


The Devil Meets The Witches

by gchel



Category: The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Witches - Roald Dahl
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, F/F, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Romance, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27133139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gchel/pseuds/gchel
Summary: As Miranda Priestly and her working crew arrive at the luxurious hotel for their unusual holidays while trying to finish up the latest issue of Runway Magazine on time, Caroline and Cassidy Priestly, Miranda's twin daughters find themselves stumble across a conference of witches which is held by The Grand High Witch, the leader of all the witches who identically and exactly looks like Andrea Sachs, Miranda's second assistant while Emily Charlton, Miranda's first assistant who is a heir of the ex-witch hunter has to defeat all the witches and stop their worst evil plan before it's too late. [TDWP with The Witches AU]
Relationships: Caroline Priestly/Cassidy Priestly, Emily Charlton/Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs, Emily Charlton/Serena, Grandmother & The Grand High Witch, Miranda Priestly & Andrea Sachs, Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs, Nigel Kipling/Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs
Comments: 22
Kudos: 48





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All the characters and places you recognize are the property of Lauren Weisberger, 20th-century Fox, Warner Bros. Pictures and Roald Dahl. No money made or infringement intended.

Emily Charlton suddenly jumped as her green eyes noticed something on the floor. “A MOUSE!”

It was another ordinary day at Runway Magazine that Miranda Priestly’s first assistant was still working at her desk with an unimpressive demeanor on her face. She was waiting her colleague, and in her opinion, the biggest frenemy in her life, coming back from the umpteenth copies of those photographs to submit towards the editor-in-chief when her eyes suddenly noticed a small grey figure running on the floor and heading towards her heels.

“A MOUSE! OH MY GOD! BLOODY HELL!!! OH MY GOD!!!”

Miranda instantly looked up from the documents on her desk and glared towards Emily in disbelief.

“I HATE A MOUSE!!! OH MY GOD!!! I NEED TO CALL…”

“Emily? What’s the matter? Are you alright?”

Emily snapped her finger and glared at Andrea Sachs, her biggest frenemy with an obvious frustration. “GET IT OFF OF ME!!!” She jumped out of her chair and ran towards Andrea after saw the mouse was still following her with a quick yet silent pace. “COME ON, ANDREA! PLEASE DO SOMETHING!!!”

Andrea rolled her eyes in amusement before crouched on the floor and gently picked the mouse up. “Hello there.” She greeted the mouse with a hint of smile on her face and turned to face Emily with a slight frown. “I thought you and those mice are already friends since you really enjoy having cheese…”

Emily heaved a sigh and instantly shot a glare back towards her colleague. “That’s not even funny. Mice usually eat fruits, grains and seeds. They are omnivorous, Andrea.”

“Hey, I’m just kidding. There’s no need to be… that mad.” Andrea shook her head with a chuckle before headed back into Miranda’s office with a mouse and those copies of photographs in her hands. “Here you are, Miranda.” She smiled briefly towards her boss who didn’t seem to be amazed on her task or scared of the mouse incident earlier at all. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Miranda glanced up from her desk to meet those chocolate brown eyes of her second assistant after heard the question. Although her face didn’t show any signs of disappointment or displease, Andrea could already sense an erupted ignition from those cold gaze behind piercing blue eyes after she spoke with a soft yet cold voice. “No, but I do wish not to see a mouse or any creatures in my office again.”

Andrea gaped. Her brown eyes switched to the mouse in her palm again. “Oh, okay.” She looked up to Miranda with a shy smile. “I’ll let them know that… there’s some pests inside our building.”

Miranda nodded. “That’s all.” She said before glanced down and picked some of those photos to see.

However, as Andrea decided to turn away with a mouse in her hands and had a brief final chat with Emily who seemed to be really mad yet sarcastic at the same time after she forgot to let her colleague know that Miranda would be obviously unhappy to see her in the office with a mouse in those hands, Miranda couldn’t help but glance up from the desk again with a slight annoyance on her face towards Emily after noticed Andrea opened the doors and headed into the elevator with a pensive mood.

“Emily.”

Emily suddenly came into Miranda’s office with a hint of relief on her expression. “Yes, Miranda.”

“After Andrea came back, I’ll let you and her know what we’re going to do for our holidays.”

Emily frowned after saw a hint of brief smile on her boss’s lips. She initially was about to ask Miranda when her brain suddenly froze after she remembered one of the most important things in her life.

Never dare to ask Miranda anything. Never!!!

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“I’m really sorry, my friend. But this is the only way I can help you from those exterminators.”

Andrea heaved a sigh after gently put the mouse down on the pavement besides Elias-Clark building.

She was about to turn back into the building when the mouse slowly jumped on her left Chanel heel and desperately looked at her.

“Oh?” Andrea looked down at the mouse with curiosity before eventually smiled. “Are you hungry?”

The mouse seemed to nod at her words. Andrea looked up and glanced around her nearby area before noticed a candy bar besides the coffee shop. She chuckled as she was away from the mouse for a while before eventually came back with a chocolate bar and a small bag of banana chips in her hands. “You’ll enjoy these.” Andrea said as she handed those banana chips from the bag to the mouse before took a bite on her chocolate bar and simply moaned in delight. “Gosh, this is so delicious!”

As soon as Andrea finished her chocolate bar and said a final goodbye towards the small grey mouse on the pavement, the mysterious woman who was selling stuffs at the candy bar couldn’t help but give a devilish grin as her purple iris inside those blue eyes noticed a glimpse of another mysterious woman inside the same grey mouse which suddenly ran away from the building as it saw her grin while Andrea couldn’t help but frown after noticed how fast the mouse could run away from the slight raindrops that suddenly came from those grey skies above her presence and those buildings nearby.

Andrea licked her lips as she eventually headed back into the Elias-Clark building with a bag of banana chips inside her jackets. The second assistant couldn’t help but turn her curious gaze towards the seller at the candy bar as soon as her chocolate brown eyes sensed another glimpse from those eyes again while heading back towards the elevator until the doors opened for her and eventually left everything far behind from her current concerns as her eyes noticed Emily’s call on her phone screen again.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Come on, Andy! This could be fun! We’re going there for holidays!”

“I really do hope so, Nige.” Andrea rolled her eyes in disbelief as she continually pushed a cart beside Nigel Kipling, the former art director of Runway Magazine who was now the co-editor of Runway Men Magazine. “But that doesn’t mean we’re still working for Miranda on holidays. Am I right?”

“It’s just a week!” Nigel pouted. “A week without those traffic jams on the road and hectic schedule.” Andrea chuckled as Nigel walked to the other side of the aisle and picked up his favorite wine bottle. “What about twins? Don’t they have to be their father’s house this time?”

“Like I said, it’s the one and only time for this year that Miranda and her daughters will share their holidays together while she’s working on the latest issue.”

“You seem frankly energetic and enthusiastic, Nigel.” Andrea frowned. “Is anything alright?”

Nigel bit his lips as his eyes constantly watched Miranda’s twin daughters over Andrea’s shoulders. “Well, it’s not simply bad like you imagined.” He eventually replied. “But you’d better watch out those candies for the twins. Miranda doesn’t quite enjoy the way they have sweet tooth lately.”

“At least she let them have it until eight.”

“Oh, really? Well, still… It’s not every day that the dragon lady can catch her own children’s acts.”

Andrea shook her head with a smirk on her face before stopped the cart and went towards Cassidy Priestly, the twelve-year-old girl with a long red hair who dressed in her white sweater and jeans which seemed to enjoy herself while looking at those lollipops on the shelf in front of her and her twin sister, Caroline Priestly, another twelve-year-old girl with a long red hair and freckles on her face who dressed in her black sweater and white long pants.

“I told you, Caro. This tastes better.” Cassidy said as she chose a lollipop with salted caramel flavor.

“You have no tastes at all.” Caroline rolled her eyes before turned to greet Andrea and Nigel with a slight smirk on her lips. “Uncle Nigel, which one do you prefer… between caramel and peppermint?”

Nigel couldn’t help but grin as he eyed towards Cassidy who simply crossed her arms and shifted her direct gaze towards Andrea. “Honestly, my favorite one is peppermint for sure. But if I were you now, my dear Caroline, I just picked them both.”

Caroline pouted while Cassidy lightly chuckled and picked up both flavored lollipops from the shelf.

“Cheater.” Caroline muttered to her twin sister. “I saw you handed twenty bucks to him earlier.”

“Finders keepers.” Cassidy shrugged. “Loser weepers.”

Andrea shook her head again as her brown eyes suddenly noticed a glimpse of another woman nearby. Cassidy and Caroline turned towards the same direction of her sights while Nigel turned a cart to pay all those goods they bought for tonight and their upcoming holidays. There was a brief pause between them until the other woman who simply dressed in every day outfits with long black gloves eventually reached towards Caroline and Cassidy with a strange grin on her lips. “Hello, girls. I heard you’re talking things over on those lollipops.”

“Well,” Caroline rolled her eyes again. “You already heard.”

“What’s inside your basket?” Cassidy suddenly asked as her eyes noticed a basket in a woman’s hand.

“Oh, there’s nothing much in here…” The woman simply grinned towards Miranda’s twin daughters as she handed something out from her basket. “Except it’s just another special treat for my child.”

As Andrea’s brown eyes saw a glimpse of a small green snake that came out of the woman’s basket, she suddenly went up to the woman with a furious glance on her face and quickly placed herself between her and Miranda’s twin daughters. “What do you think you’re doing?” Andrea asked.

Caroline suddenly jumped and turned her gaze towards her mother’s assistant. “Andy?”

“There’s no need to be mad, young lady.” The woman chuckled to Andrea. “Are you afraid of snakes?”

“Get out of here before I call the cops.” Andrea demanded her with a glare. “You’ll be sorry if you don’t. I’ll report everything on what you’ve done towards Miranda Priestly’s twin daughters.”

“Andy, she didn’t do anything…”

Andrea didn’t even care on Cassidy’s sudden interruption. She suddenly pulled Cassidy and Caroline back to her before turned them away from the mysterious woman who was still chuckling towards her and Miranda’s daughters after saw Nigel came back to them with a frown on his face. As Nigel turned to speak with Andrea who was still mad at what happened towards her boss’s daughters earlier while they were heading out from the store together, the mysterious woman with long black gloves suddenly stopped grinning before opened her basket to draw out the small green snake and petted it.

“What’s the matter with her?” Caroline turned to ask Cassidy after they arrived at their townhouse.

“I don’t know.” Cassidy’s eyes still widened after caught a glimpse of Andrea’s frustration. “Period?”

“They’re not safe here, Nigel.” Andrea quietly spoke to Nigel who simply shook his head in disbelief. “Can you at least persuade Miranda to postpone their holidays to next month for Christmas or at least let them stay in her office instead of going somewhere nearby the coast?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t.” Nigel replied. “First, I’m not Irv Ravitz. And second, I’m not Miranda Priestly. Everything depends on her opinion, darling. You can’t do anything without her permission.”

“But Nige…”

“Don’t let me start on what you’ve done to her in Paris last year, Six. Even Emily still got a bad taste from what you did to her. Not to mention the reason why Miranda chose you over her...”

“Really? If she didn’t get a car crash, she wouldn’t blame me for sure!”

Nigel pouted as he flicked his fingers and gestured her to calm down.

Andrea sighed before sat down on the staircase after saw Caroline and Cassidy silently went into the kitchen on their own.

“I’m really sorry, Nigel. I know I shouldn’t step on Emily at all. I just felt… disappointed on what I did.”

“And what did you do?” “I don’t quite know. But I…” Andrea heaved a sigh again. “I feel like there’s someone watching me…”

“Andy, you’re overreacted. At least Emily didn’t try to track you down after what you did to her. ”

“It’s not about Emily.” Andrea shook her head as she replied. “It’s about me… and the twins.”

Nigel frowned as he noticed Andrea’s hands suddenly trembled with fear. “Andy, hey. Six, come on.” He quickly reassured her with a palm on her left shoulder. “There’s nothing you can do, remember? You’re the most impossible thing that ever happened in Miranda’s life. You can do anything, right?”

Andrea shook her head again. “I don’t know, Nige. Even her daughters don’t believe in what I saw…”

“Practically, it was subjective. But I’m sure someday they’ll understand in what you did for them.”

Andrea frowned as her glance instantly met Nigel’s eyes. “Really? Will they understand?”

“Well, they are not just a child although they’re soon to be teenagers. That doesn’t mean they won’t understand and take anything for granted eventually, Andy. Things take time, just like you and…”

“Me and…?”

Nigel suddenly bit his lips. “Nothing.” He softly replied and helped Andrea to get up from the staircase. “There are lots of things we need to prepare for our holidays, Six. That’s all for Miranda’s work today.”

“Nigel, you still don’t tell me what you mean on things take time!”

“I’ll let you know later, Six. It’s just… not this time.” Nigel heaved a sigh as he eventually turned to close the door after Andrea was already outside Miranda’s townhouse. He sighed again as his eyes turned to notice how disappointed Miranda was after she came downstairs with a frown and those signature pursed lips on her face while she was in her favorite robe.

“Is my cat still inside my purse, Nigel?”

Nigel smirked as he went towards his friend. “Well, I almost pulled her off earlier. Luckily I didn’t.”

Miranda rolled her eyes and turned to walk straight into the kitchen with Nigel. “This will be the last time I’ll let you speak with Andrea in my personal space, Nigel. I won’t let this happen ever again.”

“Can I be really honest with you, Miranda?”

Miranda rolled her eyes again. “I hate to repeat myself. You know that.”

“I think it’s time you and Andy should stop tiptoeing around each other.”

Miranda frowned at him. “Is that what you meant to say earlier on being honest to me, Nigel?”

Nigel stopped walking as soon as he caught a glimpse of Miranda’s twin daughters in the kitchen. “Trust me, Miranda.” He turned to whisper towards Miranda with a thoughtful glance. “If you still insist to stay silent, don’t say anything to her or even let her know on what you really feel right now, it might be too late to tell her. Tomorrow might never come again.”

Miranda heaved a silent sigh as Nigel eventually went into the kitchen with a sudden smile on his face before went up to her twin daughters who were blissfully happy after saw their mother’s brief smile while Andrea who was still standing and waiting for a late night cab in front of Miranda’s house, couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Miranda having a nice full time with her twin daughters inside the house behind her after her boss eventually filed a divorce from her ex-husband. Although Andrea still felt insecure and distressed on what could have been happened to Cassidy and Caroline at the store earlier, she always knew that they’d be eventually safe in their mother’s embrace in the end.

As Andrea eventually got into the cab which suddenly drove away from Miranda’s townhouse, Emily who was already asleep in her bed, suddenly jumped out of her bed before quickly opened her green eyes to meet a familiar figure in front of her as the voice suddenly called her name.


	2. Chapter 1: Runway on Holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day at the exquisite hotel turns out to be something extraordinary between Andrea and Miranda under the witness from Miranda's twin daughters and Runway crew, yet spooky enough for Emily who really tries her best to get some sleep.

As Roy smoothly pulled over the car at the front of the exquisite hotel, he quickly opened the door and stepped out of the car with a quick pace while Andrea was trying to open the door on her side after noticed how incredibly fast Miranda had stepped out of the car before let her twin daughters got out of the car on the side of her boss. Andrea couldn’t help but mutter and roll her brown eyes as her struggle on opening the car door eventually stopped as she instantly stepped out of her side with a pant from her mouth and some beads of sweat on her forehead.

“Cass, are you sure Andy is really alright?” Caroline asked her twin sister while glancing at Andrea.

Cassidy shrugged while stepping away from the trunk as Andrea suddenly came over to help Roy carry those luggage and Miranda’s suitcases before turned to pick up those backpacks and a little gold cage which belonged to her and her twin sister as Andrea called out her name and smiled. “Here you are.”

“Thanks, Andy.” Cassidy returned a brief smile at her as Roy closed the trunk. “Thank you again, Roy.”

“You’re welcome.” Roy grinned as he watched Cassidy and Caroline quickly raced themselves into the hotel while carrying those backpacks and a little cage in their hands before turned his gaze towards his boss and her second assistant with a broad smile on his face. “Have a nice holiday.”

Miranda simply nodded and flicked her hand as she saw Andrea waved a final goodbye towards Roy.

As Roy eventually went back to his seat and drove the car way from their sights, another yellow cab was slowly pulled over at the same spot Roy just stopped by earlier. Andrea couldn’t help but smirk while greeting the newcomers as Nigel opened the door and stepped out from the cab while Serena came to give Miranda’s second assistant a big hug with a giant smirk on her face.

“Hey, how was the ride? Did I miss anything?” Andrea shifted her gaze towards Emily after noticed the sound of yawning while muttering behind those hands. “Emily, did you sleep well last night?”

“Very good, thank you.” Emily sarcastically replied before stepped herself away from Andrea and Serena as she turned to instruct the cab driver while watching him unload their suitcases and luggage from the trunk. “Those sheep really helped me.” Emily said after rolled her eyes in distress.

“Where are Cassidy and Caroline?” Nigel asked Andrea after noticed Miranda already beckoned them to follow her into the hotel together. “I hope they didn’t cause any other problems to you and…”

“Oh, no. Not at all. They’re totally fine.” Andrea chuckled. “Wait a second, what do you mean…?”

“Don’t forget to remind me about bring those color palettes, Six. I need to recheck them ASAP.”

Andrea frowned as her eyes saw Nigel slowly bit his lips. He eventually stepped away from her and followed Miranda’s glacial pace to the hotel reception which was next to the staircase and elevators. However, as soon as Andrea walked past the hotel reception, she couldn’t help but gasp after looked at the hotel manager with astonishment as he eventually glanced up to speak with Miranda and Nigel. 

“Good morning, Miss Priestly and the crew. Welcome to our hotel.”

There was a brief awkward pause between all of the guests from Runway Magazine and Mr. Stringer, the hotel manager who simply dressed in a very nice black tail-coat as Nigel and Mr. Stringer suddenly exchanged a brief gaze between them until Nigel coughed and motioned Miranda who still pursed her lips to sign on the paper for checking into the hotel. “God, I feel like we’re all in the Twilight Zone.”

“There’s nothing we need to be afraid of, Nigel.” Miranda muttered towards Nigel before turned to finish signing on the paper in front of her. “Besides, we’re on holidays. Irv Ravitz can’t do anything.”

Nigel snorted as his eyes saw Andrea who was stunned at the identical appearance between him and Mr. Stringer, suddenly followed Miranda into the elevator with a bellboy who rushed to deliver those luggage and Miranda’s suitcases into Miranda’s suite which was on the sixth floor while Emily who just had arrived at the hotel reception with a bellboy and all of their luggage, couldn’t help but gape and sigh as her eyes met a glance from Mr. Stringer. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She muttered.

Serena smiled and shook her head as Nigel beckoned Emily to follow him into the elevator with a help from another bellboy who came to deliver their personal stuffs as Miranda’s twin daughters returned from their personal races with a pant and beads of sweat. “Where’s mommy?” Cassidy asked Serena.

“Oh, well. She’s already on the sixth floor.” Serena smiled. “Probably in there with Andy and Nigel.”

“Oh?” Caroline’s eyes slowly widened as they exchanged a glance with her twin sister’s curiosity. “What about Emily?”

“Em? She just followed Nigel into the elevator.” Serena replied to Caroline while signing on the paper in front of her at the hotel reception. “Girls, are you hungry? Maybe we can go to cafeteria or the…”

As Caroline and Cassidy turned to watch Mr. Stringer who stepped away from them to greet someone at the front of hotel staircase, they couldn’t help but frown and mutter something towards each other as Mr. Stringer said something to the new arrival guests who were all women which dressed up in a luxurious outfits with long gloves and beautiful hairstyles. However, as Mr. Stringer stepped away to pick up something at the reception counter, Cassidy suddenly gasped as her eyes met an instant glare from one of those women who turned her gaze towards them while Caroline couldn’t help but frown at the same woman who was still glaring at them with the weirdest grin on her face in astonishment. 

“Alright, everything’s set up.” Serena turned to speak with Miranda’s twin daughters again. “Let’s go.”

Cassidy suddenly rushed back into the elevator with a frightened look on her face while Caroline was still frowning at the same mysterious woman after she followed Serena who was still being unnoticed into the elevator.

As soon as the elevator door eventually closed, the same mysterious woman who dressed in her best outfit and had the best hairstyle of blonde hair, gradually pursed her lips as she slowly moved her left fingers while carrying her black cat before turned to speak with the other women with an instant glare.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“What exactly do you mean, Emily? Are you saying that I have to share the same room with Miranda?”

“Of course! You have to work, take care of her lovely children and stay in the same room with her.”

Andrea’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me?! I thought I shared the same room with you guys.”

“Andrea…” Emily rolled her eyes as she sensed another upcoming dramatic sequences from her constant babbling colleague. “Don’t make me repeat myself like Miranda again, Andrea. You already heard what I just said. Now, please relocate your stuffs from our room to her room before Miranda came back here and found out that you still have no idea about your relocation yet!”

Andrea groaned as Emily started pulling those luggage out of the room. “Are you out of your mind?!”

Emily heaved another frustrated sigh as she finished delivering the first out of three luggage. “No.”

“Please, Emily. You know that I can’t. And besides, Miranda won’t let me stay in the same room…”

“Get away from me before I report your stupid riot to Nigel’s twin…”

Andrea sighed. “I really don’t understand! Why does it always have to be me? I thought Cara…”

“Cara already asked for a leave before Miranda came up with holiday plans on her mind.” Emily huffed as Andrea attempted to stop her re-delivering those luggage in a quick pace. “Listen to me, Andrea. There’s no one in Runway can handle her children like the way you do. It’s Nigel’s decision, not mine. Even though I’m still her first and only the first assistant of Miranda Priestly, the one and only editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine, you’d never know how much I really wished I never encountered any nightmares from those pranks that her dearest daughters brought into my life! Especially this time!”

“Emily…”

“Go and fetch me a coffee in ten minutes before Miranda came back. She might need one too.”

Andrea frowned. “Alright, alright. Coffee for Miranda is fine, but I thought you prefer to sleep first.”

Emily glared and flicked her hand towards the door as she quickly delivered the last luggage to Andrea. “Ten minutes or I’ll track you down and let Miranda know what really happened.”

“Em, please.”

“Five minutes…”

Andrea sighed again as she eventually pulled all of her luggage out of the front door while watching Emily followed her with a look of obvious irritation on her face. “Can I ask you something, Emily?”

Emily sighed and crossed her arms as her eyes met a curious glance from Andrea again. “What?”

“Why don’t you just ask Miranda to fire me and help her find the new second assistant instead?”

A brief pause suddenly erupted between them as Emily instantly bit her lips while watching Andrea frown in a brief confusion before the first assistant rolled her eyes and quickly shut the door in front of her colleague who couldn’t help but groan as she eventually pulled those luggage into Miranda’s room which was already left open for her since Serena had arrived here with Miranda’s daughters.

“There you are, Andrea.” Miranda eventually said as Andrea exchanged a brief grin with her daughters.

“I’m so sorry, Miranda.” Andrea replied after she went up to Miranda. “I just heard from Emily that…”

Miranda flicked her hand towards Serena who simply walked out of the suite with a smile on her face while Nigel couldn’t help but smirk as he eventually handed a photoset of their latest issue towards the editor-in-chief. “Has David called yet?” Miranda turned to ask Nigel with a slight frown on her face. “He should send the rest of these into my mail today.”

“Already texted in Messenger. He’ll send another set around three.” Nigel replied to Miranda while keeping his glance towards Andrea who already turned her back towards them and went to help Miranda’s twin daughters after they brought two white mice out of the little gold cage. “Look.”

Miranda glanced up from her iPad with a sigh. “What?”

Nigel motioned Miranda to shift her gaze from her work towards Andrea and her twin daughters.

“Alright, which one is Josie?” Andrea joyfully asked after saw the mice. “And which one is Jake?”

“That one is Jake.” Cassidy replied with a smile on her face before turned to hand a mouse towards her mother’s assistant as soon as it climbed on her hand. “This is Josie.” 

“Oh! Hello there.” Andrea chuckled and began to teach both girls how to train the mice and let them do some tricks. “Okay, this is quite tricky. But I’m pretty sure you’d love it as much as I already did.”

As Andrea taught Josie, the little white mouse, to creep up the sleeve of her dress and come out by her neck for the first time, Cassidy and Caroline couldn’t help but applause with a smile on their faces as Andrea finished her first trick while Nigel couldn’t help but decide to record a video on his phone as Miranda gradually smiled with contentment while watching her children and Andrea in silence.

“See? I told you.” Nigel mouthed his words as he finished recording a video of them. “She’s the one.”

Miranda rolled her eyes as her smile eventually subsided although her piercing blue eyes were still watching Andrea and her twin daughters closely after she turned back to work with Nigel. However, as Andrea eventually shifted her gaze from the twins to watch Miranda working with Nigel, the editor-in-chief couldn’t help but cough as they exchanged a brief glance and Miranda could sense an instant blush on her face after their eyes instantly met. Andrea silently chuckled as Miranda turned her gaze away from her before the second assistant eventually turned back to meet those gazes from Cassidy and Caroline who could only return their smirks towards her after saw Andrea shyly coughed and started her second trick on training those white mice to the twins.

“Alright, girls. This trick might be a bit… cautious on your head. But I used to train my uncle’s mouse. Just putting cake crumbs or any dessert you like, and then…” Andrea gently placed Josie behind the back of her neck after she put some breadcrumbs on her head. As soon as Josie’s feet touched on Andrea’s back of her neck, the mouse started to climb up from the back of her neck until it eventually reached towards the breadcrumbs on Andrea’s head. “See?” Andrea smiled as she handed Josie back to Cassidy while helping Caroline to teach Jake at the same time. “Everything needs patience…”

“Where’s my coffee I’m asking you?! Huh? I expected you to…”

Emily suddenly stopped on her track as her eyes eventually saw two white mice on the twins’ hands. She glared at Andrea in disbelief although she couldn’t mutter any other words in front of Miranda who still glared at her first assistant in a total displease and disappointment at the same time.

“Miss Charlton?”

As soon as Emily started to jump and shriek in silence after noticed how those two mice slowly turned their heads to her direction, Mr. Stringer suddenly came into the room with a coffee in his hand.

“I’m really sorry for your late coffee, Miss Charlton.” Mr. Stringer said to Emily. “I hope you…”

As Mr. Stringer’s eyes suddenly turned to notice those mice on the hands of Miranda’s twin daughters, he sighed and walked up to Miranda who suddenly pursed her lips and put the rest of her current works down on the desk nearby as Nigel quickly stepped up to the hotel manager first. “I can explain…”

“I’m really sorry, Miss Priestly. But I really can’t permit mice in our hotel.”

Cassidy and Caroline suddenly glared at Mr. Stringer in incredibility while Andrea suddenly stood up and turned to look at him in surprise. “How can you say that in front of my boss and my colleagues?”

“I beg your pardon for intruding your boss’s suite, Miss Sachs. But as far as I’m concerned…”

“Well,” Miranda heaved a sigh as her eyes saw Serena came back into her suite with a surprise look on her face. “As far as I’m concerned, Mr. Stringer. Your luxurious hotel just becomes rotten after it’s full of rats anyway.”

“Rats?” Emily’s green eyes suddenly widened at Miranda’s words. She was now in a total state of shock while trying to sip her coffee and watching Andrea at the same time. “Oh my god…”

“Rats?” Mr. Stringer frowned. “What are you talking about? There are no rats in this hotel!”

“I saw three…” Nigel interrupted with a cough and a flick of his hand. “Running into the kitchen.” 

“That’s not true! There’s no way that…”

“I think you’d better get the rat-catcher or the exterminators in your hotel at once, Mr. Stringer.” Miranda said. “Before I change my mind and report you to the Public Health Authorities.”

“Miss Priestly, I’m pretty sure that there’s no…”

“No wonder why our breakfast toast was all nibbled round the edges.” Nigel heaved a sigh before turned to look at Mr. Stringer carefully. “If you’re not really careful, Mr. Stringer, I’m sure those people from Health would be ordering the entire hotel to be closed before everyone gets typhoid fever.”

Mr. Stringer couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief. “You’re not being serious, are you?”

“Are you kidding?” Nigel smirked as he replied. “Well, of course! I was never more serious in my life.”

“Are you or are you not going to allow my daughters to keep their white mice in their room?” Miranda asked Mr. Stringer with an instant yet longing glare from her piercing blue eyes. “Mr. Stringer?”

Emily couldn’t help but repeatedly mutter her favorite mantra, ‘I love my job.’ as her green eyes turned to watch those mice on the hands of Miranda’s twin daughters again while Mr. Stringer, the hotel manager could only heave a sigh as he exchanged a brief glance with Miranda, Nigel, Andrea and Miranda’s daughters in absolute defeat. “Okay, then.” Mr. Stringer eventually said with a brief smile. “Miss Priestly, I’ll permit your daughters to keep those mice in their room as long as they are never allowed out of their little cage. Will you agree or disagree on my permission?”

Caroline bit her lips as she desperately glanced at Andrea while Cassidy turning to plead her mother.

“Mom?” Cassidy asked her mother in distress. “Please? We promise we won’t…”

“That will suit us very well, Mr. Stringer.” Miranda said with a pensive look on her face. “Thank you.”

Cassidy huffed as she stood up, walked past Emily and went back into her room while Caroline could only sigh and look at Andrea as she eventually helped her to put all the mice back into the little cage.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Later that night, Emily couldn’t help but grunt every time she rolled over her bed and turned her gaze towards the rain outside the windows nearby while listening to the sound of Serena being asleep in the other side of her room.

As soon as Emily decided to shift herself up from the pillow, she suddenly gasped at the sight of Nigel, sitting on the couch in front of her while looking at her with a slight frown on his face. “Bloody hell!”

Nigel turned to switch on the lamp after heard another mutter from his colleague. “We need to talk.”

Emily sighed and groaned as she realized what he exactly meant. “It’s not my fault at all, okay?! I asked Andrea to fetch me a coffee in ten minutes! She’s the one who completely forgot my order! Not me!”

Nigel pouted. He stood up and sat down on the end of Emily’s bed. “That’s not what I meant, Emily.”

Emily heaved another sigh. “Gosh, I can’t believe we have to be matchmakers for Miranda.”

“Trust me, this favorite game of mine will make you feel even better about our boss and her Six.”

Emily pulled a face as Nigel picked up his phone and opened a video file for her. “Did I miss anything?”

Nigel snorted after heard her question. “Not entirely, yes. But for a sneak peak of today, no.”

Emily sighed as her gaze eventually shifted to watch a recorded video on the screen of Nigel’s phone. Although the first assistant couldn’t help but bite her lips as she was watching those two mice in each and every frame of the video, a smirk gradually appeared on her lips as she shook her head in disbelief after her eyes found Miranda and Andrea exchanging a glance in silence. “Oh, this better be a joke!”

“Well, well. Not anymore.” Nigel replied. “I never thought you’d be so scared of those mice...”

“Stop it.” Emily turned to glare at him. “Long story short, Nigel. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” 

“Okay.” Nigel said as he saw Emily slowly lied on the pillow and carefully lifted the blanket to her chin. “Don’t want to be nosy, but are you really sure that you can sleep without counting sheep…?” 

“Yes, I can!” Emily snapped and rolled her eyes in disbelief before heaved another sigh as she closed her eyes. “Would you kindly tell me a bedtime story, Mr. Kipling?”

“I wish I could tell one though.” Nigel replied. “You might have heard this kind of stories before.”

“What kind of story? Cinderella running away from her Prince Charming again? Totally nonsense.”

“Not really. Anyway, if this doesn’t entertain you at all, I highly recommend you to listen ASMR…”

Emily huffed after failed to focus on her sleep. “Come on, Nigel. I know you can do better than that.”

Nigel swallowed as he returned his gaze towards Emily. “It’s about the witches.”

Emily’s drowsiness turned into a sudden wakefulness as the first assistant quickly sprang herself up from the pillow and the mattress on her bed. “The witches?” She frowned in disbelief. “I thought…”

A strike of lightning suddenly interrupted their conversations as Nigel swallowed again. “They’re real.”

Emily’s green eyes slowly widened in surprise after she realized what Nigel meant about the witches. “Do you think they’re real?” She whispered a question towards him. “I thought it’s just a bedtime…”

“I really hope it’s not real at all.” Nigel heaved a sigh as Emily lied down again. “But I guess it is.”

“Oh my god.” Emily closed her eyes while listening to the sound of thunderclap and raindrops carefully until she could sense that Nigel eventually stood up from her bed. “Are you going back to your bed?”

As soon as Emily sprang herself up from the bed again, she couldn’t help but shriek and jump out of her bed as her green eyes eventually caught a glimpse of the woman instantly coming towards her.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Andrea suddenly opened her eyes and sprang up from the bed after heard the sound of thunderclap. The sight of dark stormy night was clearly visible through nearby windows at her side of the large bed. As the second assistant slowly shifted herself and turned her gaze towards Miranda who was asleep and turned her back towards her employee’s side, Andrea couldn’t help but rub her brown eyes and heave a soft sigh as she eventually found Miranda’s blanket had been slipped from her boss’s shoulder.

Andrea slowly moved a bolster which was placed between them for separating their sleep position on the large bed in Miranda’s suite to give her a little yet enough space for adjusting her boss’s blanket. The second assistant carefully lifted the blanket up from Miranda’s waist until she found it eventually covered Miranda’s entire body in a single move.

As soon as Andrea silently re-adjust a bolster on their bed by placing it on the same spot and eventually drifted off to sleep on her side, Miranda who seemed to be asleep in Andrea’s gaze, gradually smiled and sighed in silent contentment as she carefully rolled over to look at her second assistant closely before she eventually drifted off to sleep with a soft smile on her face. 


	3. Chapter 2: The Tale Retold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second day at the exquisite hotel comes along with the beginning of new chapters between Priestly's family and Andrea. However, as some of the crew encounter some guests at the dining room, Nigel decides to ask Emily about the witches.

The next morning of their holidays at the exquisite hotel turned out to be something unusual yet serene between Miranda and Andrea after they both woke up in the same bed and found those smirks from Cassidy and Caroline who could only shrug at the new sight of them yet hummed in contentment while feeding their mice inside the cage together. Miranda shyly bit her lips as Andrea softly chuckled after they exchanged a brief glance before the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine decided to go into the bathroom after realized it was time for their breakfast at the hotel’s dining room. 

As Emily returned into her boss’s suite with an update from Jocelyn before she headed into the dining room together this morning, she couldn’t help but glare at Andrea who dressed in casual clothes after finished putting on her makeup. “Cerulean t-shirt and shorts, huh?” Emily rolled her eyes in disbelief.

“We’re on holidays, Em.” Andrea replied while combing her bangs. “There’s no need to be perfect…”

“Gosh, Andrea!” Emily grunted and immediately went up to Andrea. “There’s no need to be hideous in front of Miranda, you know that!” She turned to open the closet door beside her. “Where are they?” 

“What?” Andrea frowned. “Oh! If you mean the twins, they already went out with Serena and Nigel.”

“I didn’t mean them! Oh my god! I really hate insomnia.” Emily heaved a sigh. “I mean those dresses.”

“Dresses?” Andrea frowned. “What are you talking about? What dresses? I don’t understand…”

“Those dresses I asked you to bring them here. God! What on earth really happened to you, Andrea?”

Andrea still frowned at Emily’s words as the first assistant hissed while carefully looking for those dresses inside the closet until she found the one of those dresses she was looking for her colleague. Emily eventually heaved another sigh as she handed the white dress towards Andrea. “This is what we called casual clothes for our holidays, Andrea.” Emily watched Andrea turned to look at the new white dress in a total confusion. “Now, take that hideous t-shirt off and wear this beautiful dress instead.”

“Why do I even have to wear this, Emily?” Andrea asked Emily in disbelief. “It’s just a breakfast…”

“Are you taking that hideous cerulean t-shirt off or not?”

Andrea grunted as she turned her gaze back towards Emily who still stood with arms akimbo. “No.”

Emily heaved a sigh of frustration as she started chasing Andrea who suddenly jumped and ran away from her colleague with a look of amusement on her face after Emily started to pant and hiss while following the second assistant carrying the beautiful white dress into the other side of Miranda’s suite. “Come back here!” Emily shouted to Andrea. “Wear that dress or I’ll track you down!”

“Well, catch me if you can, Em!” Andrea laughed as she jumped on the couch. “Finders weepers!”

Emily gasped as Andrea carelessly tossed the white dress towards her face. The first assistant patiently waited with a frown on her face until she found Andrea eventually stopped jumping constantly on the couch. “Enough, okay?” Emily pulled Andrea down to the backrest and swiftly took off the other woman’s cerulean t-shirt without paying to Andrea’s sudden reaction.

“Emily!” Andrea cried after realized she was now wearing only a bra. “What are you…?”

“Wear this.” Emily panted as she handed the white dress towards Andrea. “She’ll like it, trust me.”

“She?” Andrea frowned at Emily’s new word as she tried her best to cover her torso by her hands. “What do you really mean? I don’t understand.”

As Emily was about to reply to her colleague, she suddenly froze as her green eyes eventually turned to meet an instant glare from Miranda’s piercing blue eyes while watching both of her assistants with a frown and pursed lips on her face. “Bloody hell.” Emily muttered after noticed how Miranda irritably sighed and glared at both of them as she found out what happened in her exquisite suite this morning.

“Will both of you care to explain me why this needs to be argued in my personal space?”

Andrea swallowed as she decided to get up from the couch while covering her torso with her t-shirt while Emily could only bite her lips and glanced back at Miranda as she began to recover her memories and remember why she was here since the very first time. “Oh, well. Miranda, I…” Emily was stuttering for a while as she walked up to her boss who already dressed in fabulous clothes. She couldn’t help but look at Miranda’s red Prada heels while giving an update from Jocelyn. “I’ve got an update from Jocelyn. She called me five minutes ago. She said she’ll send you another mail this afternoon...”

“I really don’t understand why it takes her so long…”

“Oh, well. I’m really sorry, Miranda. But I’ll do my best to reach her again after breakfast…”

“Details of your incompetence do not interest me, Emily.” Miranda turned to glare at Emily while handing a phone back towards her. “Tell Nigel that I’ll be joining him and my Bobbseys in five minutes. There’s something I need to do.”

Emily suddenly glanced at Andrea with a hint of smirk on her lips while heading out of Miranda’s suite. She couldn’t help but chuckle and shrug as Andrea rolled her eyes and was about to say something while looking back at Miranda with a slight embarrassment and apologetic manner as Emily eventually realized that she almost ruined another big chance of her boss and her colleague to spend this morning together again after their last night by sharing the same bed in the exquisite suite of this hotel.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Nigel put his hand over his green Hawaiian shirt after listened to every single detail of the latest gossip from Emily who could only roll her eyes and lightly chuckle in response. “I thought Miranda would fire you after what you did to her Andrea this morning...”

“Well, that was so close. Really close.” Emily heaved a sigh as her green eyes eventually returned to the croissants on her plate. “Gosh, I wish they would serve me a salad instead of… these.”

“It’s alright, Emily. You’ll get used to them.” Serena said after she took the last bite of her breakfast and motioned her colleagues to follow her sights. “Like them. I’m pretty sure they’d be alright.”

Emily shifted her gaze back towards Andrea who eventually decided to follow her words by wearing the beautiful white dress while writing down on her iPad as she was constantly listening to her boss. “Yeah.” Emily said as she shrugged and smirked at the same time. “They’re more than alright, indeed.”

Nigel couldn’t help but smile broadly while watching Andrea and Miranda sitting at the other table, having their breakfast with Cassidy and Caroline while overhearing their exchanging conversations before sharing their laughs as Caroline finished telling a joke and Cassidy burst out laughing instantly. “They’re so lovely. Such a sweet couple.” Nigel said as he shifted his gaze back towards his colleagues.

“And still, they haven’t even confessed their feelings yet.” Emily shook her head. “Still tiptoeing.”

“Like those schoolgirls, madly in love. Right?” Serena chuckled. “Can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Nigel laughed along his chuckling colleagues. However, as soon as his eyes behind those round glasses caught a glimpse of a tall man with blonde hair and handsome features on his face, Nigel’s broad smile suddenly subsided and returned into a straight line. “God almighty, here comes a challenge.”

Emily and Serena stopped chuckling. They suddenly turned to follow Nigel’s sights before both of them exchanged a glance and shook their heads instantly as Nigel eventually remembered the man dressed in navy suit who came to join those other guests in the dining room with a blonde girl who dressed in the blue dress. “A third wheel.” Emily and Serena said in unison. “Not again.”

“What is he doing here with that little girl?” Nigel asked himself. “He’s not supposed to be here…”

“Let me guess.” Serena flicked her hand. “He follows us because he already knows we will be here.”

“He knows?!” Emily shook her head in disbelief. “No, he doesn’t. Unless he just comes here for work.”

“Work?” Serena frowned. “What are you talking about? There’s no way he would come here to work.”

Emily heaved a sigh and turned to reply to her colleague with a look of brief frustration on her face. “There’s a conference that will be held tomorrow. Some sort of private meeting. Mr. Stringer told me yesterday while fetching me a coffee that Andrea completely forgot to deliver me before…”

“Oh, really?” Nigel slightly frowned after heard the latest information from Emily. “What is it called?”

“You wouldn’t believe it, Nigel. Trust me.” Emily heaved another sigh. “It’s called RSPCC Meeting.”

“RSP…” Serena gaped and frowned in confusion after failed to repeat the name. “What’s that?”

Emily rolled her eyes as she tried to remember everything after encountered those sleepless nights. “It’s the annual meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.”

“Oh!” Nigel’s eyes widened. “That sounds… interesting. I’m sure Miranda would love to join…”

“As I said, and Mr. Stringer, your identical twin said to me yesterday, Nigel. It’s a private meeting.”

“Private meeting?”

“Yeah, it’s held by… I don’t know who they are. But they dressed like those models from sixties.”

Nigel couldn’t help but laugh while Serena still frowned and bit her lips. “Oh, god! That cracks me up.”

“Why does it sound so weird?” Serena’s eyes returned to meet Emily’s gaze. “I mean, if it’s not private, Miranda must have heard this group or this organization before. But from what I saw her yesterday, she didn’t seem to… acknowledge anything about this event at all.”

Nigel nodded. “Yeah, Serena’s right.” He said as his gaze turned to focus on the man and the little girl. “But if he really came here for joining that meeting, it wouldn’t be weird for them at all. Especially for him, letting Miranda know that she won’t be able to attend this meeting despite the fact that we all know how Miranda really cares for children, that would be more cruel to her that she ever imagined.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Emily rolled her eyes after took the last sip of her coffee. “Alright, I’ve got to go. Back to work again, or as Miranda would always say to every one of us, move at a glacial pace!”

Nigel rolled his eyes as Emily quickly stood up and immediately started walking out from the dining room as the mysterious woman who was one of the recent guests recently came into the dining room. The woman was about to join her group at their table as Miranda’s first assistant eventually walked past her with an obvious sign of weariness. “Excuse me.” Emily suddenly said to the other woman without looking at her as she already walked back towards the elevator in a hurry. “Thank you.”

The woman with her luxurious outfit yet different hairstyle from yesterday morning couldn’t help but frown as she turned to look at Emily closely and carefully until Emily was completely out of her sights.

“Those brats are everywhere, Your Grandness. Should I ask the hotel manager for your room service?”

“No.” The woman suddenly raised her hand as she turned to reply to one of her people. “Nonsense.”

As the woman held her nose and gradually turned her cold gaze back towards Nigel who slowly turned his gaze towards her presence, he suddenly gasped as he turned his gaze back towards Serena after the woman eventually walked past their table with big a frown on her face while holding her nose.

“What’s wrong, Nigel?” Serena asked him with a look of concern on her face. “Are you alright?”

Nigel swallowed as he slowly regained his consciousness after realized he was still in the dining room. “I… forgot something in my room, Serena. I’ll come back here as soon as I can. Okay?”

“Oh, okay.” Serena nodded while watching Nigel heading out of the dining room in hurry with a frown.

As Nigel was already out of her sights, Serena quickly grabbed the rest of sandwiches on his plate and took a quick bite from them as soon as she saw Andrea and Miranda slowly stood up from their table. Both Andrea and Miranda eventually walked out from the dining room with a hint of broad smile on their faces after they decided to join Cassidy and Caroline at the beach together. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Nigel’s heart was still pounding hard and fast after he shut the door behind him. He couldn’t help but gasp as his eyes turned to face Emily who suddenly returned her gasp after heard the sound of shutting down the door and turned to look at those beads of sweat on his face. “For the love of God, Nigel….”

“They’re here.”

“What do you mean they’re here?” Emily huffed as she suddenly shifted her gaze back to her iPad and wrote something down on the screen. “I thought they’ll join the twins somewhere outside this hotel.” 

“I didn’t mean Miranda and Six, Emily.” Nigel replied as he tried to control his pant before went up to Emily who still couldn’t help but frown after the incident earlier. “Look, we’ve got to get out of here.”

“Whoa, whoa. Hold on, what’s the matter? Are you having a second thought again?”

“Listen, Emily. Listen carefully. This is not about my game, not our matchmaking plan at all! Alright?!”

Emily closed her eyes after she flinched at Nigel’s voice. “Alright, alright. What is it about this time?”

“Do you still remember on those stories I’m trying to tell you last night? About those witches.”

Emily opened her eyes in all of sudden. She shook her hand as she stood up from the couch and turned to glare at Nigel in irritation. “Is this another kind of joke you’re trying to prank me again, Nigel?”

Nigel sighed. “Apart from what I lied to Mr. Stringer yesterday, I’m pretty sure this is totally not a lie.”

Emily swallowed. “And why do I have to believe you, Nigel?”

“Because they’re here! They’re already here!” Nigel exclaimed. “Although I’ve only seen one witch.”

“Nigel.” Emily sighed and gradually put her iPad down on the coffee table. “Alright, do entertain me.”

Nigel crossed his arms as he tried his best to remember all details of everything about the witches while carefully watching Emily’s reaction as the first assistant seemed to be getting more upset as soon as she could. “Has anyone of your relatives ever told you about how to recognize the witches?”

“Nigel…”

“Please do answer my question, Emily. This is an emergency.”

Emily heaved a silent sigh as she desperately glanced down at her feet and her hands. However, as soon as she suddenly recalled something from her past, the first assistant’s green eyes couldn’t help but widen as she turned to look at Nigel in astonishment. “Wait, there’s only one person in my family who always tells me about this… well, this kind of story about those witches.”

“Who is it?”

“My grandmother.” Emily sighed before continued. “Well, my maternal grandmother named Mary.”

“Is she still alive?”

Emily shook her head. “No, she passed away since I was six… I don’t know, I can’t remember…”

“What did she ever say to you about the witches?”

Emily huffed and went back to sit down on the couch. “Which version do you really want to hear?”

“Unabridged.” Nigel replied as he sat beside Miranda’s first assistant with a hint of smirk on his face. “As Miranda’s first and only assistant, Emily… I know you can pull this off, my darling.”

“Gosh, you’re so…”

“Would you mind if I record your voice? Well, just in case. ”

Emily heaved another sigh of frustration while exchanging a glance with Nigel who already pressed a record button on his phone. “Alright, listen. There’s a big trouble that we can’t be sure which one is really a witch, which one is really a woman. But from what my grandma told me since I was a child, she always said, ‘Emily, you can make a pretty good guess on her.’ Well, without a single doubt.”

“What is it?”

Emily swallowed. “Well, a real witch is certain… I mean… always to be wearing gloves when you meet her even in the summer. Because she doesn’t have finger nails, but she has thin curvy claws like a cat. That’s why every witch must wear the gloves to hide them. Well, this theory might not be useful in winter, but I’m pretty sure that the second thing to check on this fact is a real witch is always bald.” 

Nigel snorted as he rubbed those beads of sweat off of his bald head. “Like me?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no single hair grows on the witch’s head at all. Even though it sounds easy to find out, it’s quite hard to spot in our real life because she always wears a wig. But at least those wigs really cause those witches to have those itches on their bald scalps. Nasty sores.”

“Okay.” Nigel nodded. “What else?”

“They have larger nose holes than us. The rim of each nose hole is really pink and curvy, like the rim of a sea shell. Those are for smelling. As you know, they have the most amazing powers of smell.” Emily rubbed her eyes as she tried to recall those remarks from her late grandmother. “My grandma told me that a witch can actually smell out a child who is standing on the other side of the street on a pitch black night. The cleaner a child happens to be, the smellier a child is to be a witch. The dirtier a child is, the less a child smells. Well, that’s because a child’s smell to those witches is like dogs’ droppings. Grownups like us don’t have stink waves, only children that can ooze out of their skins in waves and hit those witches right smack in their nostrils. Those waves always send them reeling.”

Nigel bit her lips as his eyes kept watching Emily closely. “What about those eyes?”

“Their eyes are different from ours. The black dot in their eyes will keep changing color. You’ll see fire and you’ll see ice dancing in the center of the dot. It will send shivers running all over our skins.”

“Oh, god.” Nigel shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

“Yeah.” Emily sighed as she leaned on Nigel’s shoulder. “Even those witches we are now talking about, are not actually women at all. I mean, even though they look like women, or talking and acting like me and Andrea, they are completely different from us. They are demons in human shape. That’s why they have claws, bald heads, queer noses, peculiar eyes and square feet with no toes on them at all.”

“No toes? Wow! That must be extremely uncomfortable for them, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, they always wear wide and square shoes. Unlike me and Miranda who wear pointed shoes.” Emily huffed. “Well, only Andrea who prefers to wear those hideous sneakers more than heels.”

Nigel lightly chuckled as Emily shifted her head from his shoulder. “Their spit is blue color, right?”

Emily nodded before turned to pick up her iPad from the coffee table. “Yep, it’s blue like...” She was hesitant at some point as she picked up her old fashioned blue pen from the coffee table and suddenly put it down again. “Well, they use their blue spit to write something down. If we look very carefully, we might see a slight blush tinge on their teeth. But unfortunately, they don’t spit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, they never spit at all. That’s all I can… Oh, wait. Also their mouths. They always look hideous.”

Nigel glanced up from his phone to look at the old fashioned pen on the coffee table in curiosity as Emily beckoned him to stop recording her voice after she already told everything he wanted to know about those witches in unabridged version. As Nigel eventually stopped recording her voice on his phone, he picked up the pen from the coffee table and frowned after looked at it closely. “Emily.”

Emily suddenly wiped her tears on her cheeks before turned to meet a glance from him. “Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Emily bit her lips and nodded as she glanced at her pen in Nigel’s hand. “Go on.”

“When you were a girl, did you ever meet a witch?”

There was a brief awkward pause between them after Nigel handed a pen back to the real owner. Emily couldn’t help but swallow as she clenched her fist while holding the blue pen in the other hand. “Yes. Only once.” She replied as she was nearly in tears again. “I was staying with my grandma...”

“Is that…?” Nigel suddenly gaped and put a hand on his chest after realized what exactly happened to Emily’s grandmother after her encounter with the witch. “Oh, Emily, I’m really…”

“Don’t be sorry on what already happened in my past, Nigel.” Emily interrupted him with a soft glare. “It would give you bad dreams anyway. Certain things are too horrible to talk about… like this story.”

Nigel couldn’t help but look at his colleague with concern after realized the cause of her insomnia and her immobile response towards his earlier questions on the witches. However, as Nigel politely asked Emily for any special requests before leaving out of her room to join Serena at the outside, the first assistant suddenly put the pen down and went up to hug him tightly as she began to sob like a child.


	4. Chapter 3: Encountering the Witches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third day at the exquisite hotel comes with an upside down of a huge turning point after Andrea and Miranda's twin daughters accidentally go into the meeting room and meet the Grand High Witch in person.

The third day of their holidays at one of the most exquisite hotels began with an erupted decision from Miranda Priestly which turned into another hectic working schedule that even Emily Charlton and Andrea Sachs couldn’t handle those changing errands for her boss on time while Miranda rapidly fired on her impossible in limited time tasks towards them after she received some bad news from Jocelyn who recently received an update from Irv Ravitz that Runway Magazine would be published the newest issue within these 2 days. 

“Is she already mad or does she just become madder?” Emily huffed as she put down her phone and started typing another mail on her laptop again. “Gosh, what on earth could it be happened again…”

“Take it easy, Em. The twins might come back here at any time.” Andrea whispered to Emily as she sipped water from her glass. “Sending you an update.” She said before went back to adjust a schedule for tomorrow re-shoot on her laptop. “Thank God that we still have Wi-Fi in this hotel.”

Emily patiently waited until she eventually received a new mail from Andrea. “Thanks very much.” Emily rolled her eyes after opened the inbox and found Andrea’s mail on her laptop screen. “Anyway, what does it feel like when Miranda compliments you?”

“Hmm?” Andrea’s brown eyes suddenly widened after heard Emily’s question. “Oh, I… I feel flattered.”

“Flattered.” Emily repeated. She couldn’t even hide a hint of her smirk on her lips. “Nothing else?”

“What do you mean?” Andrea asked after finished highlighting some completed tasks on her iPad. “What do you expect me to do when she compliments me? I thought she compliments you as well.”

“Well, it’s not… exactly the same way I feel towards her, if you know what I really mean.”

Andrea frowned. She couldn’t help but blink constantly at Emily’s words before picked up her ball pen to write something down on the notepad. “Shoot. My pen went dry again.” Andrea put her pen down on the coffee table nearby them. “What a hectic day to begin with…”

“Looks like someone has to walk downstairs and ask Nigel’s twin brother for a nice pen instead.”

“Me?” Andrea gaped. “Of course, it has to be me. Running errands is my principal job description.”

“Will you just keep calm and finish your job, Andrea?” Emily snorted. “It’s just a bloody joke, okay?”

“I know, Emily. I know.” Andrea lightly chuckled as her gaze slowly shifted from the notepad to the old-fashioned blue pen beside her ball pen which she had put it down earlier. “Hey, is it yours?”

Emily swallowed as Andrea gradually picked the old-fashioned pen up from the coffee table. “Yeah.” She replied harshly and took her pen back from Andrea’s hand. “It’s a gift from my late grandma.”

“Oh,” Andrea gaped after realized how the pen affected her colleague’s reaction. “I’m… really sorry…”

As Emily was about to reply to Andrea, Miranda immediately went back into their working space inside her suite with a frown and pursed lips on her face while listening to the end of her line on phone call. “Where’s my coffee?” Miranda asked both of her assistants with a cold glare. “Any reasons why?”

Emily turned her gaze back towards Andrea who could only glance down at her hands on her laptop. “I was going to…” Andrea stuttered as she lifted her gaze to meet Miranda’s blue eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you ever realize how many times I need to repeat myself, Andrea?”

“Miranda, I…” Andrea gaped as she attempted to put a genuine smile on her face. “I didn’t mean to…”

“Bring me two coffee here in five minutes.” Miranda interrupted with a sudden flick of her hand and rolled her eyes as soon as she realized that both Cassidy and Caroline already went outside again. “And don’t forget to tell my Bobbseys that their lunch will be served in my suite at eleven-fifty.”

“Yes, Miranda.” Andrea nodded. She exchanged a brief glance with Emily who could only smirk back. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

A brief pause erupted between Miranda and Andrea instantly as Andrea’s brown eyes met a glare which was gradually softer as Miranda said in her forceful yet usual manner. “Well, if you don’t come back here in time with my two coffee, my Bobbseys, and their little white mice by then, don’t even bother coming back here again. That’s all.” 

Andrea swallowed before nodded as she tried her best to follow all those strict yet almost impossible rules on Miranda and her boss’s working routine while trying to adjust her laptop and every other stuff on the coffee table in all of sudden after Emily suddenly coughed and beckoned Andrea to hurry up and complete those tasks before she ran out of time. 

As Andrea eventually got up from the couch and walked past Miranda to the opening door behind her, she couldn’t help but beam after she accidentally inhaled the familiar scent from her boss’s perfume.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Thank you so much, Mr. Stringer. It’s very kind of you.” Andrea said to Mr. Stringer with a smile on her face as she saw him motioning the waiter to serve two coffee at Miranda’s suite instead of her.

“You’re very welcome, Miss Sachs. Although I must say I’m almost late for my job...”

“Oh, I’m really sorry.” Andrea sighed after saw the slight frown on his face. “I didn’t mean to…”

“No, not at all. The rest of my job for today now depends on them, not me.” Mr. Stringer chuckled. “Now, if you excuse me, Miss Sachs. I’m sure you have lots of things to do for your boss, too.”

“Oh, yes! Of course, you’re right.” Andrea smiled again. “Oh, I almost forgot! Do you have a pen?”

Mr. Stringer gradually frowned after clearly heard his guest’s strange and sudden request. “A pen?”

“Well, my ball pen went dry this morning and I didn’t bring any other pens with me except that one.”

Mr. Stringer pursed his lips as he tried to search for any pranks inside Andrea’s brown eyes.

“I promise I’ll return your pen before five.” Andrea pleaded with a genuine smile on her lips. “Please?”

Mr. Stringer couldn’t help but sigh as he handed his pen to Andrea. “Alright, but don’t ever forget it.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Stringer.” Andrea said after retrieved a pen from him. “I’ll take a good care of him.”

“Well, actually it’s her.” Mr. Stringer suddenly corrected Andrea. “It’s a gift from my wife.”

“Oh.” Andrea couldn’t help but nervously chuckle and shake her head in disbelief after realized how the coincidence of earlier conversation with Emily turned out to be something more coincidental with an exact resemblance of the pen in her hand. It looked exactly like Emily’s old-fashioned pen. “Okay.”

“Please be careful. It’s a limited edition.” 

“Oh.” Andrea was about to protest Mr. Stringer’s remark with some amounts of joke when her brown eyes suddenly saw Cassidy and Caroline was heading into the meeting room with their eager faces.

“There will never be a pen like this anymore. Well, except the one my wife gave me for my birthday…”

“Excuse me, Mr. Stringer. I’ve got to go now. I promise I’ll return your beloved wife… well, your pen.”

“Of course, you must. Miss Sachs.”

As soon as Andrea saw Mr. Stringer went out from the foyer and didn’t return his gaze towards her, the second assistant suddenly stepped away and headed into the meeting room with a quick pace. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The meeting room of this hotel was simply a colossal room. Andrea couldn’t help but glance around the gigantic room after opened the double doors which were already open since Cassidy and Caroline went into this room before her. There were rows of painted gold chairs which all facing a platform.

“Andy!”

Andrea turned her head towards the left side of a platform before ran up to Cassidy and Caroline as soon as she realized that both Miranda’s daughters were sitting behind a large folding screen at the back of this room. “Hey, what are you girls doing in there?” Andrea frowned at them in confusion.

“We’re teaching Jake and Josie to do a tight-rope walking.” Caroline replied. “Come and have a look.”

“I wish I could, Caroline. But your mom asked me to bring both of you back to her room for lunch.”

“Aww… That sucks.”

Andrea chuckled as Caroline shook her head. She eventually crouched down near both of them after Cassidy finished stretching the string which was about seven inches long and poured down some of breadcrumbs on the end as soon as Josie began to walk on the string. “Wow! Such a quick learner.”

“See? It’s not that hard.” Caroline smiled as she put Jake on the string. “Now, it’s your turn, Jake.”

Andrea couldn’t help but warn both twins to be more careful on training those two little mice after she found the string became looser as Jake almost reached his end. Nevertheless, the second assistant was obviously impressed on how Cassidy and Caroline trained their mice with gentleness and patience as soon as Josie eventually completed her walk on a tight string from the start point to reach those breadcrumbs at the end. Caroline eventually applauded as she found Andrea was truly enjoying herself watching their mice as much as she and her twin sister were while Cassidy could only grin and chuckle after Andrea found a small piece of breadcrumb rested on her nose.

“Alright, girls. It’s time for lunch! We need to get back into your mom’s suite right now.” Andrea said after she rubbed her nose and stood up on the floor. “Don’t be late and don’t get yourself caught by Mr. Stringer, alright?” She softly sighed and turned to help Cassidy standing up on the floor again. “Don’t get yourself in dire straits.”

“We know we wouldn’t.” Caroline said as she stood up confidently on the floor with Josie in her hands. “You wouldn’t let us get caught by him and our mom, would you?”

“Well, I promised Mr. Stringer to return his pen before five. So, that means I have to meet him again.”

Cassidy’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise. “Oh, no. Andy, please. Don’t ever tell him we’re here.”

“I’m just kidding.” Andrea reassured both Miranda’s daughters by gathering them into a group hug. “Well, apart from returning his pen this evening, there’s nothing to be worried about him chasing after you girls and your lovely mice at all. You girls’ secrets are always safe with me.”

“Thanks, Andy.” Cassidy smiled while carrying Jake in her hands. “Come on, let’s get back to mom.”

As they turned towards the Ballroom door, the sound from outside slowly began louder than they ever imagined. It became a great babble of conversation from lots of people as Caroline’s eyes suddenly widened in shock. “Oh my God! That’s Mr. Stringer!” Cassidy exclaimed as she turned her gaze back towards Andrea who was looking at the doors in surprise. “What are we gonna do now, Andy?”

Andrea frantically looked around the room as both of her hands motioned Miranda’s twin daughters to crouch behind the huge folding screen before she decided to join them as Cassidy peered through the crack between two of the folding sections. “Cass.” Caroline said to her twin sister. “Let me see.”

After Cassidy adjusted her sitting position, Caroline eventually moved closer to the crack while Andrea let out a sigh and glanced around their space after realized how they could see the entire length and width of the ballroom without being noticed from anyone.

“Well, ladies. I’m pretty sure you all will be quite comfortable in here.” Mr. Stringer spoke to one of those women as he ushered the rest of them into the room. “Don’t hesitate to let me know anything you want. Your tea will be served for all of you on the terrace after you have concluded your meeting.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stringer.”

As Mr. Stringer bowed and went out of the room while those women immediately came into the room, Andrea couldn’t help but silently gasp as her widened brown eyes saw the face of the woman who seemed to be the leader of this conference. _Conference?_ Andrea bit her lips as she suddenly realized this was an annual meeting that held for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

“Andy, are you alright?” Cassidy whispered after saw Andrea’s eyes still kept watching those women carefully with a sign of being alarmed at the same time. “You looked so pale.”

“I’m alright, Cass.” Andrea replied to her with a soft voice. “Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be…”

As soon as Andrea caught a sight of some women in the group started scratching their hair and rubbing their feet while wearing those big round shoes as the rest of them began to sit on those chairs she found earlier in this room, the second assistant suddenly swallowed after realized all women in this gigantic room were all wearing wigs, despite the fact that they were all wearing luxurious clothes and beautiful long gloves that even Andrea couldn’t afford her money to buy those accessories for herself without getting any specific helps from either Nigel or Miranda at all. “Oh, dear.” Andrea muttered.

“The doors!!!” The woman who seemed to be the leader of the group conference suddenly shouted. “Are they chained and bolted?!”

Andrea swallowed again as she heard a voice replied. “They are chained and bolted, Your Grandness!”

As the mysterious woman turned her gaze towards the rest of the group who were already seated on those chairs, she instinctively removed her blonde wig and took off her long gloves as she walked up to the platform with a weird grin on her face, Andrea and the twins couldn’t help but frown and gasp in astonishment as soon as they realized how much those physical resemblances between Andrea and the other woman turned out to be almost the exact same person after the woman blinked her eyes and slowly craned her bald head to look at those other women in her group with an instant glare which sent those chills down to Andrea and the girls’ spines as she moved her hands up towards her people.

“Oh, no!” Cassidy suddenly gasped after she finally realized that they were not hands at all. “Claws?!”

Caroline quickly put her hand over her twin sister’s mouth as Andrea kept watching those women.

“You may… remove your shoes!” The mysterious woman suddenly barked with a harsh voice. “Now!”

As the sigh of relief eventually went out from those women’s lips, Andrea quickly glanced down at those women’s feet after they kicked out those shoes. There were all square feet with no toes at all.

“You may… remove your wigs!”

“Where is she from?” Caroline asked Cassidy in a whisper. “That’s such a weird accent.”

“I have no idea, Caro.” Cassidy replied as she shook her head. “She can’t even pronounce correctly.”

“And why does she have the face that really look like Andy? Is she Andy’s twin sister?”

“I don’t know.” Cassidy suddenly rolled her eyes. “Can’t you just stay and be quiet for the moment?”

“Remove your wigs! Do get some fresh air into your spotty scalps!”

Andrea suddenly motioned the girls to look at her instantly and asked them with a frown on her face. “Girls, can I ask you something? How long since both of you had a bath?”

“We just had this morning.” Caroline replied to Andrea before asked her in confusion. “Why?”

Andrea bit her lips as she glanced down at both Miranda’s daughters’ hands and search something on their hands carefully. She eventually sighed in relief after realized they were covered with some mud and those breadcrumbs. “Okay, girls. You need to listen me carefully. No matter what happens to me, promise me that you will take care of your mom and each other very well.”

Both Cassidy and Caroline suddenly shook her head. “What’s going on?” Cassidy asked with concern.

Andrea sighed as she exchanged a glance with them. “I wish I could tell you both right here and now, girls. But I’m afraid we don’t have much time.”

“You have to go out with us, Andy.” Caroline said after saw Andrea suddenly picked up her phone to record a video on those women’s activities as her brown eyes suddenly noticed something happened. “You already promised that you won’t leave us!”

“Quiet, Caro!” Cassidy suddenly interrupted with a glare. “Andy’s recording them! We need to listen!”

“Witches of America… Witches of America!!!”

Those bald women with claws suddenly stirred from the woman’s shout before slowly sat up straighter in their chairs while watching a leader of their coven scratching her head in distress.

“Witches?” Cassidy repeated the word with a sudden shock on her face. “Oh my god! They’re real!”

“Whoa! I thought that was just one of our mom’s bedtime stories!”

“No, it wasn’t.” Andrea slowly shook her head and returned her gaze towards them. “They’re all real.”

Caroline frowned at Andrea in disbelief. “How did you know?”

Cassidy shushed both Andrea and her twin sister with a wave.

“Useless lazy witches! Miserable witches!” The Grand High Witch yelled again as she looked at each witch on those chairs as Andrea and Miranda’s twin daughters eventually realized who they truly were while watching her walking back and forth on the platform. “A heap of idle good for nothing worms!”

A brief pause suddenly erupted as the Grand High Witch growled and smashed things in frustration.

“You know, I’m having my breakfast this morning.” The bald woman with strong claws sighed again. “And I’m looking out of the window at the beach. You know what I’m seeing? I’m asking you all! What am I seeing this morning?!” She suddenly jumped down from the platform with the most frightening grin that Andrea and Miranda’s daughters had ever seen in their lives. “I’m seeing a revolting sight!!! I’m seeing hundreds, thousands of rotten repulsive little brats… playing on the sand!!! It’s putting me right off my food!!! Why haven’t you ladies not rubbed them all out, these filthy smelly children?!”

“Oh, god.” Andrea muttered as her hands began trembling while recording every single detail of the sights on her phone. Cassidy shook her head as she looked at those witches in disbelief while Caroline curiously lifted her arm up to smell her scent after saw the witches’ nostrils became weirdly larger.

“Children’s smell really stink out the world!!! We don’t want these children around here, do we?!”

Those bald witches suddenly nodded and applauded in enthusiasm.

“One child a week is no good to me anymore!!! I want maximum results!!! Here are my orders!!!”

Andrea tried to hold her breath as the Grand High Witch eventually exclaimed in louder voice.

“Every single child in this country shall be rubbed out, squashed, squirted and frittered before I come here again in one year’s time!!!” She proudly grinned as she turned her glare towards her audiences before went up to the platform again. “Do I make myself clear?”

There was a big gasp from those audiences as every witch looking at each other with a look of concern. Andrea swallowed again as she heard one of those witches said, “We can’t wipe out all of them!”

“Who said that?! Who dares to argue with me in this room?!”

Cassidy and Caroline suddenly swallowed as one of the witches quickly put her hands over her mouth after being found by the Grand High Witch’s glare. “Oh, no! Your Grandness!!! I didn’t mean to argue. I just… I was talking to myself.”

The Grand High Witch gradually smirked. She suddenly snapped her claws towards the unfortunate one who desperately pleaded her with a horrible scream as soon as those blue sparks suddenly went from the Grand High Witch’s eyes and claws before instantly rushed towards the miserable witch.

Nothing was left to catch but a puff of smoke and a scent of burning meat in this room.

“I hope no one else is going to make me cross today.” The Grand High Witch remarked as she grinned. “Alright, where are we? Oh, yes. You’ll never see her again. Now we can get down to business.”

As the leader of the witches returned her gaze towards her audience, Andrea couldn’t help but turn to look at Miranda’s twin daughters closely after noticed how both of them became silent after they suddenly witnessed the horrible scenario from the witches earlier. “Girls, are you alright? I…”

Andrea stopped asking after Cassidy turned back and gave her a brief hug while Caroline could only nod towards her mother’s assistant as her simplest answer.

“Children are revolting against us!!! Sooner we’ll wipe them all away!!! They are all foul and filthy!!! I’m feeling sick every time I think about them!!! Those smells… Argh!” The Grand High Witch barked towards her people with a deadly glare and a frightening grin on her face. “But now, ladies. I come… to have a plan… to get rid of every single child in this country!!! Now, do shut up and listen to me!!!” She suddenly snapped after heard some applauses from her audiences. “Each and every one of you will go back to your hometowns immediately and resign from your jobs. And after you have resign from your jobs, each and every one of you will be going out and you will be buying… candy shops!!!”

Andrea swallowed again as her mind suddenly recalled on what happened to her and Miranda’s twin daughters while they went out shopping with Nigel on that day. _That woman… was also one of them!_

“You’ll be having no troubles in getting what you want because you will be offering four times as much as a shop is worth and nobody is refusing an offer like that!!! Money is not a problem to us witches as you know all very well. I have brought with me six trunks stuffed full of U.S. Dollar notes. Homemade!!!” The Grand High Witch chuckled as her audiences seemed to appreciate her joke. “Well, you will prepare yourselves for this Great Gala Opening by filling every chocolate and every sweet in your shop with my very latest and greatest magic formula…”

Andrea was attempting to adjust her sitting position while zooming in as her eyes saw the tiny bottle in the leader’s claws when Cassidy’s phone suddenly buzzed. “Shoot.” Andrea muttered. “Your mom?”

“Yeah.” Cassidy replied to Andrea in a whisper and a frown on her face. “What should we do?”

“Leave her a message.” Caroline rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, Cass. Just tell her we’ll be there soon.”

“How soon do you think we’ll going back to our Mom’s suite without getting noticed by them?”

“I literally have no idea.” Andrea desperately sighed. “Keep it together, Sachs. You can do this.”

“I called it, ‘Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker’!” The Grand High Witch cackled as she raised a tiny bottle in her claws to get an attention from her audiences. “It’s a blue liquid, ladies. One drop in each chocolate or sweet is quite enough. This formula of mine will transform a child into a mouse. A child will start to shrink. A child will start to grow fur. A child will start to grow tail. All is happening in precisely twenty five seconds. After twenty five seconds, a child is no longer a child. It’s a mouse!”

Caroline and Cassidy turned their gazes towards Andrea who could only bite her lips in concern after they all witnessed everything about those wicked witches while listening to every single detail of their conversations and recording their recent activities behind the folding screen from the very first moment until now which made both Miranda’s daughters and Miranda’s second assistant realized the sudden fact that they all were stuck in this place, without a doubt.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Miranda impatiently glanced down at her watch again after read her daughters’ message on her phone while Emily kept looking at her boss frantically as their lunch had already been served on the table. She couldn’t even dare to take a bite or unfold her napkin as she heard Miranda eventually sighed and looked at the door again. “I’ll make a call.” Miranda stood up from her chair. “Tell Andrea to meet me after she came back here with my daughters.”

“Yes, Miranda.” Emily replied to Miranda as her boss eventually went back to her room in a quick pace.

“Have you tried to call Six, Emily?” Nigel turned to ask Emily after realized something was not right.

“She’s already with the twins.” Emily replied to Nigel in annoyance. “There’s no need to call her!”

“Should we go downstairs and ask Mr. Stringer?” Serena interrupted. “We might find them there.”

Emily huffed as she stood up from her chair. “Alright, I’ll get them. Don’t worry. But I do really bet that Andrea has a better reason to explain us why she was late.”

Nigel shrugged and went to open the door. “The twins might prank her with those mice, I guess.”

Emily rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Miranda won’t let her get away with this, trust me. I knew it.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“And now, I’m going to prove you that this recipe is working to the simplest perfection!!! This little girl who’s coming into our room just ate my chocolates I fetched her this morning while we were in the dining room!!! How disgusting she was!!! She was asking for more!!! Including the doll!!!”

As the Grand High Witch barked and set everything up for her crucial experiment towards one of those unfortunate children by motioning all the witches to put on their wigs and wear those shoes again, Andrea suddenly noticed how the doors were already unchained after the Grand High Witch grinned and beckoned her people to open them.

One of those witches who was now under the disguise of a woman, ran to open the doors and let the girl with blonde hair and nice yellow dress came into the room. The blonde girl looked at everyone in the room with high expectation as the Grand High Witch who eventually resumed her human look turned to smile broadly at the girl. “Here you are, little girl! How lovely to see you, come in!!!”

“That’s Gracie Thompson, isn’t she?” Cassidy turned to ask Caroline in surprise. “How horrible she is.”

“Wait, did you know her?” Andrea asked them in confusion. “Is she related to Christian Thompson?”

“Of course, she is, Andy.” Caroline replied and rolled her eyes in frustration. “She’s his niece.”

“Oh?” Andrea glanced at both Cassidy and Caroline in surprise. “I never knew that he also has a niece.”

“My darling.” The Grand High Witch continued her words towards Gracie with a soft and gentle voice. “I have your chocolates and a doll all ready for you. Come up here and say hello to these lovely ladies.” 

As Gracie walked up to introduce herself towards the audiences in the room, Caroline couldn’t help but roll her eyes after saw a smirk on Gracie’s lips as she finished delivering all information about herself and her uncle who also was one of the aspiring writers from New York. However, after Gracie turned to face the Grand High Witch with a sign of annoyance, she didn’t even notice how the witch put the chain back on the door handles at all. “Where are my chocolates and my doll?” Gracie asked.

The Grand High Witch looked at the girl before let out a high pitched tone with a roar. “Well, well.” She snapped her glance back to her audiences. “It’s now one minute before half-past twelve!!!”

“You’re liar!” Gracie suddenly cried at the Grand High Witch. “Give me my chocolates and my doll!”

“Thirty seconds to go!!!”

Gracie didn’t seem to be shocked or surprised at the announcement from the leader of the witches even though the girl’s expression suddenly changed after every witch was staring at her. “Let me go!” She frantically yelled as the Grand High Witch turned to grip her by the arm. “Let me go!!!”

“Twenty seconds!!!”

“Give me my chocolates and get me out of here!!!”

“Fifteen seconds!!!”

“Let me go right now!!!”

“Ten seconds!!!”

“What should we do?” Cassidy asked Andrea and Caroline. “Should we come out and help Gracie?”

“Nah.” Caroline muttered towards her twin sister as she rolled her eyes again. “She deserved it.”

“Caroline.” Andrea snapped Caroline with a soft glare before replied to Cassidy with a sigh. “Of course, we should do something, yes! But not busting out from our hiding place for sure! We have to think!”

“Five!!!”

“There’s no time to think now, Andy!” Cassidy cried. “We need to help Gracie and get out of here…”

“Four!!!”

“We can’t help her now for sure.” Caroline instantly tugged Andrea’s arm. “But we can seek another help from others, too.”

“Yeah, but who can help her and help us right now?!” Cassidy asked her twin sister. “Our mom?”

“Three!!!”

“If our mom really knew what happened to us in this room, she’s gonna kill us before those witches for sure, Cass. But that sounds interesting, thanks very much for your recommendation.”

“What about Nigel and Emily?!”

“Wait, what about them?” Andrea asked Miranda’s daughters with a frown on her face.

“I overheard them this morning before I went downstairs with Caroline.”

“Two!!!”

“What did they say?” Andrea asked Cassidy. “Was it about the witches?”

“Yes! I heard Emily said to Nigel that…” Cassidy heaved a sigh. “Her grandma…”

“One!!!”

“Her grandma is a witch hunter.”

“Zero!!!”

As the time eventually went off, Gracie suddenly jumped out from the platform and hopped on the floor as her whole body stiffened. She was getting smaller and shrinking as her clothes seemed to be disappearing and the black fur was growing all over her body.

“Oh, no!” Cassidy cried after saw Gracie suddenly had a tail, whiskers, and four feet before eventually became a black mouse that running around the floor frantically as the Grand High Witch and the others tried to search for her instantly. “Those witches are going to stomp on her!”

Caroline gasped. Her eyes suddenly widened in panic while Andrea decided to stop recording and immediately send a video into her mail as a draft post as soon as her browns eyes watched Gracie running away from those witches’ feet as fast as she could until the black mouse was no longer in those witches’ sights. “Thank God!” Caroline muttered. “She made it! She just jumped into the vent.”

“Yeah.” Andrea panted as she glanced up from the floor to look at the Grand High Witch who turned to be completely frustrated after her eyes found nothing on the floor. “We need to find the way out.”

“Silence!!! It doesn’t matter anyway!!!” The Grand High Witch shouted to her audiences. “Sit down!”

As the rest of other witches eventually sat down on the chairs, the Grand High Witch started cackling even though her eyes were still glaring at them. Andrea couldn’t help but swallow as the Grand High Witch started speaking towards her coven again.

“Your ancient ones have served me well over these many years! I do not wish to deny you the pleasure of bumping off a few thousand children each just because you now become old and feeble. Therefore, I have prepared with my own hands.” The Grand High Witch proudly smirked. “A limited quantity of Delayed Action Mouse-Maker which I will distribute to the ancient ones before you leave the hotel.”

“Thank you!” The old witches applauded in enthusiasm. “Oh, Your Grandness! You’re so kind!!!”

“Our meeting is over!” The Grand High Witch announced with a flick of her claws under those gloves. “Here is the time table for the reminder of your stay in this hotel. We must all go out now and have tea with that ridiculous hotel manager. At six o’clock tonight, those witches who are too old to climb trees, will report to my room to receive two bottles each of Mouse Maker. My room number is 525. Do not forget it! Then, at eight o’clock tonight, all of you will assemble in the dining room. But do not forget to put the cotton plugs up your noses. It will be full of filthy little children!!! Without those nose plugs, the stink will be unbearable!!! Apart from that, remember to behave normally at all times.”

Cassidy swallowed as Caroline tried to hold her breath after heard everything loud and clear this time.

“Is everything I said loud and clear? Any more questions?”

“Yes, I have one more question, Your Grandness.” One of those witches asked her leader. “What will happen if one of the chocolates we’re giving away in our shops gets eaten by a grown up?”

The Grand High Witch shrugged. “Well, that’s just too bad. Alright, the meeting is over! Off you go!!!”

Andrea heaved a long sigh as she finally saw those witches almost hurried up from their seats. However, as soon as one of the tallest witches stood up from her seat, she suddenly shrieked. “Wait!”

“Oh, no.” Caroline muttered to herself. “What now?”

“I hope it’s not because of us.” Cassidy whispered in despair. “Am I right, Andy?”

Andrea suddenly bit her lips as her brown eyes kept watching those witches suddenly turned their directions towards her and Miranda’s twin daughters who were still sitting behind the folding screen.

“What is it?!” One of them asked frantically. “What’s the matter?”

“Dogs’ droppings!” The witch answered while pinching her nose. “There’s a whiff of dogs’ droppings!”

“It couldn’t be here!”

“I swear it truly was dogs’ droppings! It was so strong! Definitely somewhere… not too far from here!”

The Grand High Witch suddenly glanced down from the platform. She glared at the other witches for a while until her huge curvy nose holes were instantly waving in and out after realized the smell of children in this room. “Stink like a sewer!” The Grand High Witch cried in her displeased tone before snapped her glare towards all the witches in the room. “It must be hiding not very far from here!!! Find it!!! Track it down!!! Follow your noses!!! Do not let it escape!!!”

“What should we do, Andy?!” Cassidy asked Andrea in a sudden breakdown. “They’re gonna kill us!!!”

“If it’s in here, it must be exterminated immediately!!!” The Grand High Witched barked. “Find it!!!”

“Girls,” Andrea said to both Cassidy and Caroline as she quickly pressed a ‘send’ button on her phone. The second assistant decided to send the entire of a video clip into Miranda’s email and the rest of other employees’ emails at Runway after realized that she and her boss’s daughters were soon to be found by the Grand High Witch and her coven in any minutes. “No matter what happens to us from now on, I just want to let you know that I love you all… very much and I’m really sorry for what happened to you all.” She tearfully whispered to them as she tried to wipe away her tears. “I’m sorry I can’t protect you girls this time. But you girls have to leave me here and run back to your mother…”

“No, Andy! We won’t leave you!” Cassidy shook her head as she realized Andrea was trying to distract those witches by sacrificing herself. “If we can’t run away from them, at least now we’re still here together! If they really wanted to change us into those mice, we’re still the same person, don’t we?!”

“Yeah, Cass’s right!” Caroline agreed while trying to tug Andrea’s arm. “It’s not your fault at all, Andy!”

As the Grand High Witch successfully tore down a huge folding screen with her claws in a quick move, she suddenly snapped a glare towards Andrea who instantly stepped up to protect her boss’s children while both Cassidy and Caroline desperately pleading their mother’s assistant by tugging their arms. “Humans.” The Grand High Witch hissed at Andrea and the twins. “You are nothing but a fool!”

Cassidy screamed as the Grand High Witch grabbed Andrea’s neck and threw her away from both Miranda’s daughters with full strength. “Andy!!!” 

The Grand High Witch quickly motioned all the witches to capture both Cassidy and Caroline just in time they attempted to run towards Andrea who could only wince after noticed how her entire body hit the backrest of those chairs before eventually landed on the floor. “Ouch!”

“Bring those little worms to me!!!”

Andrea quickly got up after realized what the witches were doing. “Leave them alone, you cowards!” She shouted while running back towards the twins as the Grand High Witch glared at her in anger. “You can’t win this time!”

“Oh, well.” The Grand High Witch smirked as she walked up to Andrea who was looking at her in fright. “Looks like the last time we met, it’s not like what you said at all. Was I right, Charlton?”

Both Cassidy and Caroline looked at the women in shock while Andrea could only frown. “Charlton?”

The Grand High Witch roared as she snatched a pen from Andrea’s shirt pocket and raised up towards her people. “The successor of a witch hunter.” The Grand High Witch croaked as she scratched on Andrea’s face and broke Mr. Stringer’s pen into pieces. “You’re the grandchildren of a witch hunter!!!”

Andrea suddenly gaped and glared at the Grand High Witch after realized how Emily’s old fashioned pen was related to her childhood’s memories and her colleague’s late grandma. “No… You can’t be serious… This cannot be… ” She started babbling as soon as she also realized how this pen shared a resemblance of Mr. Stringer’s pen. “That is not my pen. Alright?! I need to return that pen before…” 

“Andy!!!” Both Cassidy and Caroline exclaimed as they were grabbed by those witches. “Help!!!”

Andrea’s mind snapped back into the present again. The second assistant frantically ran away from the Grand High Witch who started attacking her again by throwing lots of ball fires towards her.

“Andy, watch out!!!”

Andrea’s hands almost reached to both Miranda’s daughters as soon as she eventually found out what the witches were currently doing towards them. Unfortunately, as Andrea successfully pushed some of those witches away from both Cassidy and Caroline, the Grand High Witch suddenly snapped her right claw towards the second assistant before those blue sparks went out from those eyes and instantly hit Andrea’s entire body as she pulled both Miranda’s twin daughters into a warm embrace.

“Andy!!!” Both Cassidy and Caroline suddenly exclaimed as Andrea’s entire body became still.

“You can’t defeat me, you fool!” The Grand High Witch roared with a glare towards Andrea.

Andrea slowly became smaller and smaller than both Cassidy and Caroline could even notice where she was under those garments now as her hands gradually slipped away from their grasps. “Andy!!!”

“Now, for a little medicine for these brats! Hold their nose to make them open their mouths!!!”

As Jake and Josie suddenly jumped out of both Miranda’s daughter’s pants pocket and frantically ran on the floor as the Grand High Witch came towards them, the other witches turned to cruelly stomp on those mice while the rest of them tried to pinch Cassidy’s nose as Caroline’s mouth was poured the entire content down into her throat. Both girls’ skin started tighten after they were forced to drink all the potion from those witches before it was getting tighter and become squeezing as Caroline realized there was a mouse fur on her arms while Cassidy heard the clapping and cheering from those witches as the Grand High Witch was yelling towards them.

“Five hundred doses for each! These stinking little brats, each has had five hundred doses!”

“Andy!!!” Cassidy cried while desperately looking for her mother’s assistant. “Andy!!!”

“Now, we’re having instantaneous action!!!” 

The floor was only an inch from Cassidy and Caroline’s sights as they eventually noticed a fury paws resting on the floor and found that they were able to move those paws on the floor instantly.

“We’re mice now, aren’t we?” Cassidy asked her twin sister with a frown. “You’re a brown one. Huh?”

“Well, yeah. So are you. We’re twins anyway.” Caroline rolled her eyes.

As Cassidy kept watching Andrea who was suddenly went out from those garments on the floor with a big phone in her fury paws, she couldn’t help but cry in delight. “Andy! You’re alive!”

“Come on, girls!” Andrea, who was now become a white mouse, said. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

As the Grand High Witch and those witches turned their gaze towards the three mice on the floor, Andrea and Miranda’s twin daughters suddenly leapt over those witches’ feet with the fastest pace. “Hurry!” Andrea shouted as they suddenly leapt into the vent. She sent her phone towards Cassidy and followed Caroline into the smaller hideout just in time before the Grand High Witch pulled out the lid and reached her claws towards Andrea and Miranda’s daughters’ direction. “Oh, dear.”

“What are you guys waiting for?! Run!!!”

As soon as Andrea noticed Gracie, the little girl in a black mouse who jumped out of nowhere and ushered her to run further into the vent, the second assistant suddenly motioned both Miranda’s daughters and Gracie to jump down into the darkness as the Grand High Witch’s claws was almost to grasp them in the last moment before Andrea closed her eyes as she joined the others by jumping down while carrying her phone in her paws.

As Andrea’s phone and all the mice hit on the below level of the vent, Andrea couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief as she fully realized how fortunate she was after she accidentally got herself into those unfortunate circumstances. Although Andrea was transformed in a total bad shape such as a little white mouse, she was well and still alive just as her boss’s daughters and Christian Thompson’s niece.

Caroline suddenly jumped as soon as her eyes saw Emily’s name on Andrea’s cracked phone screen. “Whoa! It must be for our mom and Andy’s work! What are we gonna do now?!”

“We need to get back into mom’s suite.” Cassidy replied to her twin sister before turned to Gracie with a smile on her face. “Thanks, Gracie! We’re really appreciated your help.”

“Hmm…” Gracie proudly nodded. “At least we’re on the same boat. It’s not totally that bad.”

“Really?”

“I was joking, Cassidy.” Gracie shot her back as she caught Caroline’s glimpse. “Hello to you too.”

Caroline sighed as she quickly walked up to her twin sister who was looking at Andrea thoughtfully. “Don’t forget that our Gracie owed us just only this time, Cass. Don’t fawn over her too much.”

“Alright, girls.” Andrea suddenly interrupted as she picked up her phone to carry on her paws again. “Just like Cassidy suggested, we have to get back into your mom’s suite before someone catches us and kill us like those witches again. Emily and Nigel might know how to cure us from this… illusionary nightmare.” Andrea heaved a sigh as she started carrying her own phone while walking on two feet. “It’s not totally that bad like you just said, Gracie. Oh, by the way, I’m Andy Sachs. Nice to meet you.”

Gracie couldn’t help but mutter as she began following Andrea and Priestly’s twins out of the vent. “Those witches. Those people. My beloved uncle will get that old ugly cow for this!”


	5. Chapter 4: The Return of Grandma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Andrea, Cassidy, Caroline and Gracie are about to arrive at Miranda's suite after being transformed by the Grand High Witch, they are all seem to be caught up in another big trouble at the corridor. However, as soon as they are finally rescued by one of the Grand High Witch's biggest enemies, Andrea decides to help Miranda's daughters and Gracie while waiting for Emily's return which makes Miranda become upset and attempt to plead her second assistant after realizes how cruel the Grand High Witch is.

As Andrea and the other three mice reached towards the end of their temporary hideout, Cassidy and Caroline suddenly leapt out from the lid before pulled Gracie out and dropped down on the ground after Andrea slid her phone and quietly leapt down to the floor as her brown eyes noticed two guests were leisurely walking past them on the corridor. “Careful, girls. We need to be quiet.” 

“Alright.” Gracie said as she turned to help Andrea carrying her phone after the second assistant swiftly led them to the other side of the corridor.

“We’re now at the lobby.” Caroline announced them as soon as she realized where they were. 

Andrea responded Caroline with a nod. “Okay. We need to separate now. Gracie, you come with me.”

“Is that Emily?” Cassidy asked as her eyes noticed the first assistant pacing back and forth at the foyer.

“Should we go and ask her for help?” Caroline asked Andrea who could only shake her head. “Why?”

“Emily hates mice so much. She’ll freak out if she sees us now. We must go back to your mom’s suite.”

“But, Andy. If mom sees us at her room, would she really understand and accept us as mice?”

“Girls.” Andrea said to both Caroline and Cassidy who were now frowning. “Don’t worry about that, I’ll meet you two again after Gracie and I reached the sixth floor. Come on, Gracie. Let’s go.”

Caroline heaved a sigh before turned to the other side and motioned Cassidy to climb on upstairs. “Hurry up, Cass. We need to get up there before someone catches us on this staircase.”

“Alright.” Cassidy rolled her eyes as she followed her twin sister. “Alright, whatever. See ya, Andy!”

“Great! Those feet are huge enough to stomp all of us anyway.” Gracie muttered to herself as Andrea ushered her to leap into the elevator before hid themselves and Andrea’s phone under the red rug.

There were at least three people inside the elevator who were on the same ride with two little mice. Fortunately, someone had pressed a button on the sixth floor and nobody in this elevator was one of those wicked witches who could easily notice something wrong below their feet at all.

As soon as the elevator eventually reached to the sixth floor, Andrea and Gracie quickly leapt out of the elevator with Andrea’s phone inside those little paws after realized how fast the doors were about to squeeze them instantly. “Whoa! Hey!” Gracie suddenly cried out loud as they successfully got themselves away from those hotel guests and the elevator’s doors just in time. “That was… too close!” 

“Well, at least we’re still lucky enough.” Andrea replied to Gracie as she slightly panted after running on the corridor while carrying her phone with Gracie who couldn’t help but roll her eyes after heard a response from Miranda’s assistant. “Trust me, Gracie.” Andrea said to Gracie as they reached towards an intersection. “Those witches can be worse that we could ever imagine earlier in that room.”

“Oh, yeah? I think I’ve already seen enough of them.” Gracie heaved a sigh as they eventually turned to the right direction which successfully led them to Miranda’s suite. “Even though I’m not quite impressed by what you and those Priestly twins decided to work it out before those ugly creatures came to transform me into this hideous mouse, I must say you really did a good job…”

“Oh? Well, thanks.” Andrea chuckled. “I really didn’t mean to…”

“Despite how great my uncle is, I’m so glad that he didn’t eventually end up with someone like you.”

“Oh, well.” Andrea couldn’t help but shrug after she put the phone down beside the wall. “Whatever.”

As Gracie picked up the phone and reached towards the front door of Miranda’s suite before Andrea, Andrea’s entire body suddenly froze as her brown eyes caught a glimpse of the gigantic hotel maid who came into their direction. “Oh, dear.” Andrea swallowed as she rushed to Gracie. “Not again.”

“Hello, Mama!” Gracie gleefully cried towards the door. “Here I come!”

“Gracie! Watch out!”

As the maid suddenly turned her gaze towards the black mouse who also shrieked at the sight of a giant human dressed in hotel uniform before her, Gracie quickly leaped out with Andrea’s phone as the maid suddenly shrieked and started panicking after saw a sight of two mice on the floor.

“RATS!!! RATS OVER HERE!!! OH MY GOD!!! RATS!!!”

“Holy Moly! Whoa! Damn!” Andrea cried in terror after pushed Gracie away from the maid’s attack.

“Is she going crazy?!” Gracie asked Andrea after gave the phone back towards her. “Stop her!!!”

“Surely it’s not a good sign to ask her right now, Gracie!!!”

“RATS!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!! GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU FILTHY RATS!!!”

“Just do something, Andy!!! Okay?! We need to… Whoa!!!”

“What’s going on here, guys?!” Cassidy asked them after saw Andrea struggling on carrying her phone before the brown mouse cried out loud in all of sudden as the maid started another offensive attack towards them by using a broom and hitting on them furiously. “Whoa! Mommy!!! HELP!!! Oh, God!!!”

“Cassidy!!!” Andrea frantically shrieked as she went back to rescue her from that broom. “Watch out!” 

Caroline quickly knocked on the front door of her mother’s personal suite by using Andrea’s phone. “Come on, mommy!!! Come on!!! Please open this goddamn door!!! Mommy!!! HELP!!! MOMMY!!!”

“Caroline!!!”

Caroline shrieked in panic as her eyes saw a glimpse of the second maid who just caught Andrea and Gracie into the water jug just in time before the first maid would hit them all with that gigantic broom.

“Andy!!!” Caroline desperately cried as the second maid turned to say to her colleague with a frown.

“Alright, here they are. There’s nothing to worry about now. Let’s get back to work.”

“WE NEED TO REPORT THIS TO MR. STRINGER IMMEDIATELY!!! HE MUST KNOW ABOUT THESE RATS!”

“I’ll let him know as soon as he came back. Don’t worry. Just get back to work. Everything will be fine.”

“BUT…”

The second maid suddenly waved a flick of her hand towards the first maid who suddenly ran away from the hotel corridor as fast as she could while Caroline and Cassidy were looking at her curiously.

As the second maid sighed before crouched down on the floor, she couldn’t help but look at Andrea after took off the jug. “I’m afraid that I was too late this time, my dear child.” The maid said to Andrea. “I’m really sorry for what happened to all of you. I really wish I could have more time to warn you and my granddaughter before the Grand High Witch and her coven would arrive here. But as you already saw once, Emily’s always furious every time she sees those mice and me… well, as a mouse.”

“A mouse?” Andrea gaped. “Excuse me, I know this is totally weird. But you can hear me, right?”

The second maid simply nodded and smiled towards all the mice. “Of course, I can hear what you said, Andrea Sachs. And I can hear what the other girls are saying to me, too.”

“Thank God!” Cassidy heaved a sigh as she put her paws over her chest. “Thank you so much, Miss…”

“Mary Charlton, dear. You must be Cassidy for sure. And…” She looked at Caroline. “You are Caroline.”

Caroline smiled in relief at the elder Charlton’s remark while Gracie could only shrug at the mouse. “Well, at least you’re not late this time, Miss Charlton.” Caroline said. “Are you related to Emily?”

Andrea’s brown eyes suddenly widened as she kept watching the maid thoughtfully until she realized who the maid truly was. “Oh my god! You’re Emily’s grandmother! You’re still alive! But how…”

“Things were really complicated back then, child. We need to stop those witches before…” 

As Miranda’s door was suddenly opened by Nigel, both Miranda’s daughters and Gracie couldn’t help but gape in shock as the maid exchanged a soft glance with Nigel before turned back to pick up Andrea’s phone with a pensive look on her face and returned her known gaze towards Nigel again.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Has Andrea and my daughters come back yet?”

“Oh.” Serena glanced over the couch as she heard Miranda’s sudden question. “Miranda, I’m…”

“Where’s Emily?” Miranda continued to ask Serena in disappointment. “I’m asking you, aren’t I?”

“I’m…” Serena’s eyes still widened in fright after heard the editor-in-chief heaved a frustrated sigh. “I’m really sorry, Miranda. Emily’s still looking for them, but she hasn’t sent any messages…”

“This is ridiculous.” Miranda heaved another sigh of frustration. “I’ll call him.”

Serena kept watching Miranda in silence after found her boss was about to call Mr. Stringer again until her eyes saw Nigel came back into Miranda’s suite with the hotel maid who was now looking at their boss thoughtfully. “Wait, Nigel.” Serena muttered to Nigel as she walked up towards him. “Miranda…”

“Shut the door, Serena. This is going to be a bumpy afternoon for her and every one of us...”

“What’s the matter?” Serena frowned after heard his disgruntled voice. “I don’t understand…”

“Just shut the goddamn door, Serena.” Nigel rolled his eyes and went to sit on the couch. “Now.”

As Serena shut the door and came back to sit on the couch beside Nigel, Miranda couldn’t help but purse her lips as her piercing cold blue eyes caught no signs of her beloved twin daughters and both her personal assistants except the hotel maid who was looking at her with a pensive look on the face. “Oh, well?” Miranda sighed as she eventually walked up to speak to the maid. “I hope Mr. Stringer has a good explanation why he sent you up here without my permission.”

“I have to apologize for my sudden interruption, Miss Priestly.” The maid gradually bowed to Miranda. “But Miss Charlton asked Mr. Stringer to send me up here. To clean your room and her room as well. It’s an afternoon cleaning procedure for our hotel, Miss. But… I do understand if it’s not allowed…”

“Oh, really?” Miranda snapped her glare and began to chide towards the hotel maid. “I don’t understand why Emily would do something stupid such as asking you to come up here and explain any sorts of things without further reasons why…”

“I’m really sorry to disturb you and your crew in your own room, Miss Priestly. But I have to say…”

“Well, I don’t have time for your nonsense matter. Please do get out of my room before I called…” 

As soon as the maid picked up Andrea’s phone out of her apron and handed it back towards Miranda, the editor-in-chief of Runway suddenly knew at a glance that there was something wrong happened to her second assistant and her children. “Miss Sachs asked me to tell you that she can’t be here…”

“Where’s Andrea?”

The maid handed Andrea’s phone back towards Miranda while trying to answer her. “I’m really sorry.”

Miranda’s hands started trembling as she retrieved Andrea’s phone. “What happened to her?”

“Miss Priestly, I…”

Miranda’s piercing blue eyes suddenly became widened in surprise after she and her crew accidentally heard one of her children’s sobbing. “Cassidy!” The editor-in-chief cried out as she frantically glanced around her room while trying to find her daughters in despair before returned her cold gaze towards the maid in fury. “What happened to them?! Tell me what happened!!! Why can’t I see my children?!”

“There were some horrible accidents…” The maid swallowed as she attempted to delve into her apron while watching Miranda became more impatient in worry. “Your daughters, your second assistant and Mr. Thompson’s niece were all got affected by these unfortunate circumstances from those…”

“Miranda! Oh, dear. Careful.” Nigel suddenly stood up from the couch after realized the editor-in-chief was about to collapse as soon as her blue eyes looked at the maid delving into her apron again.

“Is she alright, sir?” The maid asked in concern. “I didn’t mean to…”

“Please do tell us.” Nigel replied to the maid while gently holding Miranda. “Please.”

“Well.” The maid looked at Nigel before gradually crouched nearby the coffee table. “Fortunately, they’re still alive. But I was too late to help them from those…” She coughed again as her eyes saw Nigel’s eyes suddenly became wider after realized who she really meant. “It’s really complicated, Sir.”

“Can you please just tell me what’s really going on?! What happened to my Bobbseys, my assistant and Christian Thompson’s niece?!” Miranda heaved another frustrated sigh as she snapped her glare towards the maid in exasperation. “God! I really can’t stand any longer of these ridiculous stories of…”

As the maid eventually delved into her apron, everyone in Miranda’s suite including Miranda herself was completely silent as their eyes slowly noticed how four little mice turned to watch them carefully and thoughtfully for a while until the white one decided to hop down from the maid’s hand and walked towards Miranda with a familiar gesture and movement that totally left the editor-in-chief speechless as her piercing blue eyes suddenly noticed how the white mouse stopped walking before glanced up to look at her with a hint of a soft and genuine smile at the same time. “Miranda, it’s me. Andrea.”

Miranda couldn’t help but watch the white mouse on the floor and the other mice on the coffee table in tearful serenity as the white mouse smiled at her with a sign of an apologetic manner. “This cannot be…” Miranda looked at the white mouse who was still looking at her apologetically in shock and disbelief. “God! Please tell me it’s just a dream.” Miranda closed her eyes. “It’s just a dream, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid it’s real, Miranda.” The white mouse replied in a familiar voice while looking back at Cassidy and Caroline, two brown mice who desperately rushed to their mother with pensive gazes. “I’m really and truly sorry for what happened to Gracie Thompson and your daughters. It’s all my own fault…”

Miranda couldn’t help but softly sigh after opened her eyes to notice Andrea was babbling again. “Andrea, it’s okay.” She replied to her second assistant with a faint smile on her face. “It’s alright.”

“I’m sorry, Miranda. I couldn’t… I… I… couldn’t save your children and Gracie from those witches… I…”

Miranda cooed Andrea as she bended over to pick up both daughters and her second assistant who were now become little mice from the floor to look at them closely before gave them a tearful smile. “It’s going to be okay, Andrea.” Miranda wiped her own tears as she turned to look at her daughters. “Hello, Bobbseys!” The editor-in-chief tearfully bit her lips as she attempted to smile while sobbing. “I’m so glad that you all came back to me.”

“You aren’t really mad that we’re now mice, are you, Mommy?” Caroline asked Miranda in concern. “I mean, we can’t even take Patricia to walk outside after school anymore if we’re still being mice.”

“Yeah, and that also means we can’t even go out to the stores and hang out with our friends, too.” Cassidy sighed as her mind drifted to both Jake and Josie again. “Gosh, I miss Jake and Josie so much.”

“Me too. That Grand High Witch is so brutal!” Caroline patted her twin sister with those little paws as her eyes went up to meet her mother’s soft gaze again. “Such a wicked monster! She killed our mice and transformed every one of us to be a mouse by her potion! It tasted like broccolis!”

“No, no. Caro. You’re totally wrong.” Cassidy shook her head. “I do think it was worse than broccolis.”

“Cass, are you crazy? Broccolis are the worst vegetables I’ve ever had in my life!”

“No way! Carrots are the worst! I can’t even stand the smell of them!”

“Actually, it tasted more like sweets.” Gracie cut them off as she rolled her eyes in the maid’s palms. “Oh, by the way. I’m Gracie Thompson. Nice to meet you all.” 

Miranda tearfully smiled towards her twin daughters despite her brief glare towards Gracie who asked the maid to lower her down at the fruit basket on the coffee table. “You’re still my dearest, Bobbseys.” Miranda said to her daughters with a smile on her face. “How can I possibly be mad at both of you?”

Caroline swallowed as she exchanged a brief glance with Cassidy before turned to answer their mom. “We took Jake and Josie out from our room to train them outside without Mr. Stringer’s permission. Andy came into the meeting room and found us there until we were stuck in that room from those witches’ annual meeting. It turned out to an evil plan for exterminating every children in the world.”

“Well, especially in America.” Cassidy lightly coughed before continued with a further explanation. “The Grand High Witch constructed an evil plan to transform every children in America and all around the world into mice by using her special potion called ‘Formula 86’. She dropped it on those chocolates that Gracie took a bite and it turned her into a mouse. We saw what she had done to Gracie and tried to escape from her and the rest of them but we got caught by them first.”

“Andy tried to save us from the Grand High Witch, mom.” Caroline continued as she glanced at Andrea. “She looked exactly like her and misunderstood that Andy was a witch hunter.”

Miranda’s blue eyes suddenly widened in surprise after noticed how the maid nodded. “And then?”

“And then, the Grand High Witch got me before them and transformed me into a mouse instead.” Andrea crossed her arms. “I tried to tell her that I’m not a witch hunter, but she was completely furious to see us witnessing everything about her evil plan. Even the pen I borrowed from Mr. Stringer looked exactly as same as Emily’s one. I… just realized it was not just an ordinary pen. It’s a wand, right?”

As Andrea turned to ask the maid who was still listening to their conversation, the maid couldn’t help but heave a sigh as the simplest answer after saw Miranda shook her head in disbelief. “You’re right, my dear child.” The maid reassured Andrea and walked up towards Miranda who was looking at her in curiosity. “She’s right, Miss Priestly. I’ve been trying to warn Emily and Andrea about those witches. But I haven’t got any chances to tell them because…”

“One, Emily hates mice. And two, if Emily knew you’re still alive, she won’t be safe from them again.”

Mary Charlton, Emily’s grandmother who still dressed in a uniform of hotel maid, simply nodded towards Nigel as she saw him watching her in empathy. “There were many times I’ve tried to let my dear child, Emily know that I’m still here and didn’t leave her as she always understood, but things were so complicated back then. After my first encounter with the Grand High Witch many years ago, I decided to hide from her and her coven by faking my own death after that cruel and gruesome witch casted a ‘transformation’ spell on me. Luckily, I did survive her curse and found myself be able to transform as a mouse at the same time. But that also cost me and my family, too. I can’t get back to Emily’s mother and my granddaughter since the Grand High Witch had seen my face. If she sees me and Emily at the same time, she might be able to reconnect those events and realize her mistakes.”

Nigel gaped at the newest remark he just heard from Mary. “What kind of mistakes she had done?” 

“Well, one of those ridiculous mistakes that the Grand High Witch ever made is she mistook Andrea as my granddaughter. She initially thought Andrea is also a witch hunter like me and Emily’s mother, so the Grand High Witch decided to put a specific curse on Andrea which turned her into a mouse, just like Miss Priestly’s daughters and dear Gracie Thompson.”

“What’s the differences between getting cursed and poisoned by her?” Miranda suddenly asked Mary with a slight frown on her face. “Can they all be transformed back to humans?”

“As your daughters and Gracie were cursed from the specific formula potion, I’m really certain that they all can be cured by a specific healing potion. But I need time to make a potion at least one hour and a single drop from the Grand High Witch’s formula. I will extract every single ingredient that she mixed into her potion and turn them all to be a cure for your daughters and Gracie. It will take a lesser time if Emily really knows how to make a cure, but I’m not sure if she’d like to help me and you all…”

“She’ll understand everything immediately, Mary. Don’t worry.” Serena interrupted Mary with a hint of broad smile on her face. “She’ll come back here and help us from this… unfortunate situation ASAP.” 

Nigel thankfully nodded to Serena before motioned Miranda who was still smiling while sobbing in silence to sit down on her bed. “Things could be a lot worse if Andrea wasn’t there to help Cassidy and Caroline from those witches, Miranda. Thank God that Six also helped Gracie from them, too.”

“I know, Nigel. I’m so grateful that Andrea helped my daughters from those wicked creatures. But…” Miranda heaved a long sigh as she glanced up to meet Nigel’s genuine gaze. “I still don’t understand why that horrible witch had to put a curse on Andrea. She even has a face that look like her, too.”

“I guess that’s another kind of things called ‘Revenge.’” Nigel bit his lips as he glanced down to look at Andrea who was surprised while still apologetically looking at them. “Our Six has a delicate feature. It’s totally unique. Perhaps it’s very hard for the Grand High Witch to forget the little girl from Ohio who eventually made her to track our Six and the rest of every children down since then. That’s why the Grand High Witch decides to bring all of our Six’s physical appearances and put them all over her human form ever since. Well, just a little reminder to forgive, but not forgotten.”

“That’s so strange, Nigel.” Andrea said. “How did you know everything about those witches?”

“Well, there’s a great friend of my late grandmother named Louisa. She was a professional healer and also the witch hunter like Mary. Sadly that she passed away since I was thirteen, so I haven’t got any chances to ask her more on how to spot those witches or how to deal with the Grand High Witch.”

Andrea apologetic smiled as she looked up at Miranda and said to her boss. “Well, I guess I have to get that potion from the Grand High Witch’s room. It’s below our… I mean your suite, only one floor.”

Miranda immediately snapped her gaze towards her assistant. “That’s unacceptable. I won’t allow it.”

“But Miranda…” Andrea looked at Miranda who suddenly stood up and walked back to the couch. “Every children in the world would be turned into mice if we didn’t stop the Grand High Witch in time!”

“Don’t ever think of what you’re going to do next, Andrea.” Miranda glared at Andrea as she gently put her daughters down on the coffee table. “I won’t let you go back into that gruesome pit alone and get caught by that nasty witch and her coven ever again!”

“The old witches will be soon in her room at six o’clock! I need to… Oh, dear.” Andrea heaved a sigh as she put both paws over her face in a sorrowful manner before returned to speak to Miranda and her twin daughters. “The Grand High Witch also broke Mr. Stringer’s pen, too. It’s very meaningful to him! And now I can’t even go back to him without his beloved pen and also this new shape of mine…”

“Don’t worry, child.” Mary softly smiled as she handed Mr. Stringer’s pen towards Andrea and Miranda “I found his pen in the meeting room after those witches walked out from the room to have some tea. I used my repairing skill to fix it before came up here and found you all.”

Andrea couldn’t help but beam after realized Mr. Stringer’s pen was now be able to use it again. “That’s very kind of you, Mary.” Andrea put the pen on the coffee table. “I can’t thank you enough…”

“Anyway, just like you said, Andrea.” Miranda interrupted with a frown and pursed lips on her face. “You, my Bobbseys and Gracie can’t walk around the hotel while still being a mouse… I mean, mice. So, the best thing we all should do right now is waiting for Emily…”

“I’m afraid we don’t have much time now, Miranda.” Nigel said to Miranda while helping Serena to fetch some dry roasted peanuts to Gracie and Miranda’s twin daughters who were now sniffing and looking for food in this room. “We need to lower Andy down to the Grand High Witch’s room and let her get that delayed potion before those old witches will be arrived at the Grand High Witch’s door.” 

“Oh, God! I’m so hungry!” Gracie exclaimed after took a first bite of those peanuts. “This is so yummy!”

“Yeah!” Cassidy nodded to Gracie while chewing before turned her gaze to Miranda. “Mommy! Maybe we can help Andy to get that potion from the Grand High Witch’s room before they came back…”

“Ah, ah. You and Caroline won’t be allowed to go anywhere in this hotel without my presence, dear.” Miranda huffed as she briefly looked at Gracie in disbelief. “And I won’t let Gracie to do that too.”

“And what are we supposed to do now?” Andrea asked Miranda with a frown on her face. “Waiting?”

“Andrea.” Miranda heaved a sigh as she rolled her eyes. “Emily is also one of my assistants. And now, she’s also the witch hunter as her grandmother claimed all the facts about those… witches. If she’s really the witch hunter, Emily must know how to deal with these circumstances just like her grandma.”

“Trust me, Miranda, if Emily went down there, she will get caught and killed by those witches just before she came back here with that potion.” Andrea apologetically coughed as her gaze returned to meet Mary’s eyes. “I’m really sorry, Mary. I didn’t mean to insult your grandchild, but there’s no way those witches and the Grand High Witch would let her come back here alive after found out what they’ve done to every one of us.”

“Andrea.” Miranda heaved a sigh again. “Will you just let Emily do on what she can?”

“I’m afraid that...” Mary coughed. “Emily must do some practices before she can defeat them tonight.” 

“See?” Andrea smiled and shrugged with amusement while looking at Miranda. “I told you.”

“Have you lost your mind?!” Miranda huffed as her piercing blue eyes turned to watch Andrea in fury. “I won’t let you go there alone, Andrea! It’s too dangerous! We need a better plan!”

“There’s no better plans now, Miranda. It’s time to make a choice and follow on what I’ve decided!”

“Andrea, you know that I can’t…”

“I’ll come back here safe and sound with the potion, I promise.”

As Miranda watched Andrea climbing down from the coffee table and ran towards the balcony outside her personal suite, the editor-in-chief couldn’t help but sigh before gently picked the white mouse up from the balcony floor after noticed how Andrea jumped back with a sudden fear of heights. “Well?” Miranda rolled her eyes as Andrea blew some air out of her mouth in relief. “See? I told you.”

“Whoa! That’s really…” Andrea couldn’t help but chuckle after turned her gaze back towards her boss. “I might need some kind of small elevators to lower me down. It’s too high to jump down from here.”

Miranda heaved a long sigh. “Do you ever realize how many times I think you’re so stubborn, Andrea?”

“Well, things could be a lot worse than we had expected them to be, Miranda. But as you always say to me that I can do everything for you and Runway, I guess this might be not as bad as we thought.” 

Miranda couldn’t help but genuinely smile as her blue eyes kept watching Andrea in serenity. “Yeah.” She replied to her second assistant who was now a white mouse while carrying her back into the room. “Well, as someone had said to me a little long time ago.” Miranda heaved a sigh of brief contentment. “It doesn’t really matter who you are, or what you look like, as long as somebody loves you.”

As Andrea gradually returned a thankful smile towards her boss, everyone suddenly turned to look at Emily in surprise after noticed how she came back into Miranda’s suite with a soft frown on her face. “I’m really sorry, Miranda. I’ve been trying to look for Andrea and your daughters in this hotel, but…”

As soon as Emily instantly noticed the white mouse on one of Miranda’s hands and other three little mice having dry roasted peanuts on the coffee table, she couldn’t help but shriek and jump in fright as her green eyes met a glance from the maid who suddenly resembled to her late grandmother. However, as Miranda rolled her eyes again before flicked her hand towards the maid who eventually interrupted Miranda’s first assistant and everyone in this room by summoning an old fashioned pen from one of Emily’s shirt pockets just in time before Emily would run away in fright, the first assistant suddenly gaped in shock while everyone looking at Mary in a total surprise after the hotel maid rushed to embrace Emily with a huge sob of guilt and a broad smile of relief as they both eventually reunited.


	6. Chapter 5: The Portrait of the Grand High Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrea decides to take a risk on retrieving the formula by trespassing the Grand High Witch's room which is only down a floor from Miranda's Suite. Unfortunately, everything that Nigel plans and co-proceeds for Andrea's recent task almost turns out to be a perfect nightmare for Andrea as she accidentally finds an unexpected guest inside the Grand High Witch's bedroom.

Despite some brief huffs and silent glares from Emily while sitting on the farthest couch which distanced her from all four mice on the coffee table, Miranda’s first assistant couldn’t help but look at her boss and Nigel with concern after realized how miserable Miranda was after noticed a sigh from the editor-in-chief while looking at Andrea and her twin daughters in sadness as they eventually learned from Mary’s entire stories about those witches from the past which were also involved with Andrea’s bizarre incident with other three girls in the hotel meeting room earlier.

“That’s why we need your help, my dear child.” Mary concluded with a soft smile on her face.

Emily crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Gosh, please do tell me it’s just a nightmare!”

Serena mumbled something inaudible as she exchanged a brief glance with Nigel. “What time is it?”

“It’s ten minutes to five.” Nigel replied to Serena before shifted his curious gaze towards Andrea while his hands were knotting scarves on his laps. “You have to return a pen to Mr. Stringer at five, right?”

“Yes, but…” Andrea swallowed. “As you already know, I can’t go downstairs and meet him like this.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do it.” Serena picked up Mr. Stringer’s pen from the coffee table. “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, Serena.” Nigel immediately tugged Serena’s arm before whispered something into her ear. “Don’t ever forget this. Okay? This is a very serious matter. We have only one chance to do this.”

“I got it, Nigel. Don’t worry.” Serena nodded to Nigel’s words as her eyes instantly met Miranda’s gaze. “I’ll come back here in time, Miranda.” Serena smiled at Miranda before waved her hand towards Andrea and all the mice as she stood up from the couch and went out of the room in a quick pace.

Andrea sighed in relief as her brown eyes still kept watching everyone in the room while Emily could only heave a long sigh as her green eyes noticed Andrea’s glance. A brief pause erupted between them until Emily eventually stood up from her couch and walked up towards her grandmother with a frown. “Why now, grandma? Why?! Why does it have to be now?”

“I’m sorry, my dear child.” Mary replied to Emily with sadness in her eyes. “I’m really sorry.”

“You decided to leave us after saving Andrea and me from those witches! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I do wish everything could be easier, but…”

“You don’t understand at all! I almost asked those exterminators to kill you at Runway!”

“But you didn’t do it after all! Of, course. I should have told you everything about them since then, but I’m so afraid that it can be a lot worse than everyone could imagine how it was actually turned out.”

“I don’t understand! Over the past few years that you’ve been hiding the Grand High Witch and her coven while staying as a…” Emily suddenly swallowed as Mary was looking at her in a brief confusion before the first assistant eventually said the word. “Mouse.” Emily swallowed again in a total distress. “You’ve tried to warn me and Andrea about those witches while you’re being a mouse. And you always know that I really hate those damn mice!”

“Being a mouse is not bad, child! At least I don’t have to spend all of my money for foods every time!”

“Oh my God, grandma! That’s not what I meant to say!”

“How are the scarves?” Miranda turned to ask Nigel in a soft whisper. She had been watching him tying those scarves and knotting a sock at the end of them since Emily came back to the hotel suite until Nigel stood up from the couch after finished his recent emergency task. “Are they all good?”

“Better than I expected!” Nigel beamed at Miranda with a known glance. “Although I wish I could have knitted a crochet rope instead of these expensive and glamorous scarves from Hermes, these are not bad at all! There are all the newest for this upcoming season…”

“Are you sure they’ll be tight and strong enough? What about Andrea’s return from that evil’s pit?”

“Of course! They are strong enough, Miranda. Just like our Six.” Nigel chuckled as his eyes turned to look at Andrea who was now standing on one of Miranda’s shoulders with a brief look of curiosity. “She’s brave and strong enough to stand up for every children. I’m pretty sure Six will enjoy the ride.”

“Andrea has a phobia of heights, Nigel!” Miranda huffed. “What if we completely missed the spot?!”

Nigel briefly swallowed as his eyes kept looking over the balcony carefully before returned his gaze towards Miranda with a regained confidence. “As Yoda always says, ‘Do or do not. There is no try.’”

Miranda rolled her eyes in irritation as she noticed Nigel eventually smiled towards her again.

“I’ll be back here as soon as I got the formula from her room, Miranda. Don’t worry.”

Miranda turned to look at her second assistant with concern after heard what the white mouse said. However, as the editor-in-chief noticed how one of Andrea’s paws softly scratched on Miranda’s neck to reassure her boss’s confidence, Miranda couldn’t help but suppress her broad smile as Andrea finally climbed down from her arm and went straightforward into Nigel’s palm after saw him lifting the sock up towards her direction.

“Wish me luck!”

Emily rolled her eyes in disbelief as she turned to face Andrea who was waving towards her. “Gosh.”

“To be honest, my dear child.” Mary said to her granddaughter who couldn’t help but wonder if Andrea would come back in her boss’s suite with a formula. “Apart from being a mouse while no one else was watching me, that’s one of not so many things I do appreciate from The Grand High Witch.”

Emily turned to look at Mary in surprise before gradually turned her back against her grandmother as her green eyes noticed the old fashioned pen in her grandmother’s hand. “You supposed to be mad.”

Mary smiled as she turned Emily to face her directly and exchanged a known glance between them. “I’ll never be mad because of what you are, Emily. Even though everyone who doesn’t know you well, does see you as a stubborn, almost ruthless and childish person…”

“Grandma…” Emily rolled her eyes again. “You don’t have to mention those bad traits about me.”

“You’re still one of the best things ever happened in our family, my dear child.” Mary continued her speech as she turned her gaze towards Miranda and Nigel who couldn’t help but tilt their heads while thoughtfully watching Emily who could only bite her lips with nervousness and appreciation towards her grandmother and her colleagues in this room. “And you’re only one… Oh, well. You’re also one of the best personal assistants that Miss Priestly could ever have in her Runway, too. Don’t you agree?”

Andrea poked her head out from the sock as she heard Emily shrieked and jumped in horror after saw the three little mice on the coffee table ever again. “Looks like it’s time for Emily’s practice now.”

Miranda softly patted Andrea’s head as Nigel started lowering the white mouse over the balcony of the hotel suite while the editor-in-chief kept watching her twin daughters waving their paws through the windows behind them as Andrea was now completely disappeared from everyone’s sights.

Emily couldn’t help but heave a sigh in relief as Mary decided to train her some basic magical spells while Miranda could only bite her lips as she kept pacing back and forth after Nigel stuck his head out over the railings and shouted towards the mouse. “Alright, Six! You’re almost there!”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“You can do this, Andy. You can do this.”

Andrea sighed before poked her head out from the sock again as she eventually finished mumbling.

This time Andrea could see lots of things which were far away in miles such as hundreds of children playing and running on the beach in the size of small creatures such as beetles and grasshoppers.

As the sock started swinging faster in the breeze, the little white mouse quickly glanced up at Nigel as she heard him calling out to her again. “Okay, Six! You’re there now! Be careful, girl!”

Andrea noticed a little bump below the sock as she jumped out of it in a quick move. “Thanks, Nige!”

The little white mouse slowly leapt into the Grand High Witch’s bedroom as her brown eyes realized there was no signs of any witches or any glimpses of humans were in the same area. There was nothing nearby Andrea’s current position except a giant black cat who was now growling at her as soon as those dark pupils found its prey standing next to the table in its mistress’s room.

“Oh, dear.” Andrea muttered while looking at the black cat in alarm. “Please tell me it won’t jump.”

As soon as the black cat instantly jumped towards the little white mouse in a hostile manner, Andrea suddenly yelped and ran away from the table nearby. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!”

“Six?”

“WHOA!!!” Andrea rushed out from the room and went back to the sock as Nigel called her again.

“Six?!”

“NIGEL!!! HELP!!! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!! HE’S GONNA KILL ME!!!”

“What?! Who?! Is she back?!”

“THERE’S A GIANT CAT OVER HERE!!!”

“Andrea!” Miranda rushed back to the balcony after heard Andrea’s voice. “What happened, Nigel?!”

“A CAT IS TRYING TO EAT ME ALIVE!!! HELP ME!!!”

“That cat is almost getting her, Nigel! Do something!”

As Nigel’s eyes noticed how the black cat leapt forward and tried to paw its new prey in a single hit, the ex-art director of Runway Magazine quickly cast the sock towards the feline as a new temporary distraction while shouting towards Andrea again. “Hurry, Six! Find the Grand High Witch’s formula and come back here before the Grand High Witch is back with her coven! Hurry!”

Andrea frantically nodded back to Nigel as the black cat was now instinctively playing with the sock. The little white mouse hurriedly went back into the Grand High Witch’s bedroom in silence. “Gosh.” She muttered to herself as she eventually noticed how the room was tidy enough to find the formula in a limited time. “I wonder where she keeps her formulas without getting noticed by those maids.”

As Andrea leapt under the bed and climbed up to the small table nearby which had a little lamp on it, she couldn’t help but wonder how the Grand High Witch would keep all those formulas behind those hotel maids and other nosy witches inside her gigantic bedroom after she had been skittering on the table before went up to those shelves above her head for a little while. Andrea sighed again in despair. She almost turned her head to the other side when her eyes suddenly noticed something on the wall.

It was a large oil portrait of the Grand High Witch with physical characteristics in her human form.

Every resemblance of Andrea Sachs on the Grand High Witch’s face in the large oil portrait made the little white mouse become distressed and shocked at the same time as she tried to jump out of the ledge and climb on the picture frame in a quick pace when the oil portrait of the Grand High Witch suddenly fell down on the ground after one of Andrea’s paws accidentally scratched on the Grand High Witch’s face in the picture.

“Whoa!” Andrea jumped away from the picture frame and leapt back towards the couch nearby as the portrait of the Grand High Witch instantly hit on the ground. “Whoa! Gosh! That was too close.”

Andrea panted down from the couch after looking at the empty wall in front of her for the last time. “Well.” Andrea muttered with a hint of smirk on her face as she crept towards the large portrait which was now facing down on the bedroom floor. “Much better.”

As the second assistant noticed those little bumps from the back of the portrait, her brown eyes suddenly widened in surprise as her nose sniffed every single bump on the back carefully. “Eureka!”

Andrea’s paws instinctively started scratching on them until one of the tiny bottles popped out.

“Those brats!”

Andrea shrieked and picked one of those bottles up after heard a voice came from the door nearby.

“I can’t stand those hideous scents from them!!!”

Andrea gasped in panic as her brown eyes frantically glancing around the bedroom. “Oh, Dear Lord!”

“If I have to walk past through those brats again... Huh!”

As Andrea eventually heard a key turning in the lock of the door, the little white mouse quickly leapt out with a tiny bottle of the Grand High Witch’s formula in her paws when the door was suddenly burst open with a frown on the Grand High Witch’s face.

“Argh… What a day.”

Andrea started skittering behind the couch while clutching the bottle as her brown eyes accidentally noticed how the Grand High Witch had been arrived into her own bedroom with a total annoyance.

“Hmm… Kitty? Kitty? Where are you?!”

As the giant black cat shifted its all feet down from playing with the sock and hurriedly went back into its mistress’s bedroom, Andrea couldn’t help but groan in frustration as her brown eyes instantly met the growling cat again. “Come on!” Andrea silently whimpered. “Not again!”

“Kitty? Kitty!!! Where are you?!”

As the Grand High Witch was now looking for her cat, Andrea quickly leapt behind the chair nearby and jumped away from the bedroom as soon as her brown eyes noticed how quick of those front paws was about to tear her small body in time. The little white mouse ran towards the sock while carrying the bottle in her paws carefully until she caught the sight of Nigel and Miranda above her head again.

“She’s back!!!” Nigel exclaimed as his eyes eventually caught a glimpse of Andrea. “Come on, quick!”

“Kitty!!! You naughty cat!!! What have you done with my oil portrait?!”

“Oh, no!” Miranda gasped in shock after realized it wasn’t her assistant’s voice. “Where’s Andrea?!”

“Oh, dear.” Nigel’s face suddenly turned pale as he turned to look at Miranda in fright. “We’re busted.”

Miranda huffed as she pulled the long knotted scarves from the ground in hurry after her blue eyes caught a glimpse of Andrea was about to crouch herself inside the sock. However, as soon as Miranda was pulling the sock up from the lower ground, a growling black cat suddenly pounced on the sock and tried to catch its prey in anger. “Andrea! No!”

“MIRANDA! HELP!”

“Six!” Nigel rushed to help Miranda pulling the mouse up after noticed how the cat was about to kill Miranda’s assistant with a quick scratch from those paws. “Oh my God! She’s going to be killed soon!”

“Andrea! Oh, Lord! Andrea! Watch out those paws!”

“OH MY GOD! NO! NO!!! GET OUT OF MY WAY!!! NO! NO! NO!!!”

“Kitty? What are you doing there, Kitty?!”

“Oh, no! That cruel Grand High Witch is gonna kill Andy! What should we do now?!”

Emily snapped her gaze from the old fashioned pen in her hand to those little mice on the coffee table as they were now watching Miranda and Nigel still struggling on pulling the sock up before Andrea would be getting caught by the Grand High Witch in time. “We have to do something, Caroline!”

“It’s your turn now, my dear child.” Mary said to Emily who was still unsure on how to use her wand. “Always trust your gut and don’t forget to place your faith in what you truly are… with your wand.”

Caroline frantically walked towards her twin sister as she shifted her pleading gaze back towards Emily.

“Don’t worry, grandma.” Emily clutched an old fashioned pen in her hand. “I know what I can do.”

“What is she doing?” Cassidy turned to ask Caroline after saw Emily and Mary quickly went out to join Miranda and Nigel at the balcony. “Is she going to use a spell?”

“Maybe.” Caroline replied as they crept closer to the windows. “Gosh, I hope it will actually work!”

“If you wanna know, why don’t you just…” Gracie sighed as Caroline obviously shrugged towards her. “Gosh, does anybody else feel hungry like me? I think I really need more dry roasted peanuts here.”

“Just do something, Nigel!” Miranda hissed at Nigel after noticed him panting while pulling Andrea up. “We can’t leave her alone, Nigel! I don’t want to leave her there! I… we can’t lose her, Nigel!”

“I know, Miranda. I know! But that black cat won’t let her get away from him!” Nigel shook his head in distress while still watching the black cat instinctively tearing and biting those knots on the scarves by its paws and teeth. “We need to drop our scarves now, Miranda. She might spot Andrea from our…”

“That’s unacceptable, Nigel! I won’t allow…”

“And a sock, too! That’s the only way to save our Six from those witches! You have to trust me!”

Miranda heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes in disbelief. “God! I can’t believe you would just give up…”

“I’m not giving up, Miranda!” Nigel immediately turned his gaze towards Miranda. “I know it’s hard, but you have to trust me, Miranda! Trust me! Six will come back safe and sound to us with the potion!”

“What are you doing there, Kitty?!”

Miranda suddenly glanced towards the floor below after heard the Grand High Witch’s voice again.

“Kitty?! I’m asking you!!! What are you doing?!”

“Nigel, I need you and Miranda to step back from the balcony now!” Emily said to Miranda and Nigel who suddenly turned to watch her carefully leaning over the balcony in surprise. “I’ll hold some time for Andrea to escape from them!”

Both Miranda and Nigel quickly stepped away from the balcony as Miranda’s first assistant pointed her old fashioned blue pen towards the falling scarves and the black cat. She mumbled some words inaudible before started casting a magical spell towards them all as soon as her green eyes noticed how fast Andrea suddenly jumped out of the sock as the formula bottle was about to hit on the ground before the black cat’s paws would instantly scratch her.

The black cat suddenly froze its hostile action towards Andrea after Emily’s spell instantly hit both on its body and the scarves with a sock at the same time.

“Quick! Go and hide before my spell would be broken in a minute!” Emily hissed towards her colleague who was still clutching the formula bottle in her paws before quickly stepped herself away from the balcony of Miranda’s suite as soon as she noticed the upcoming footsteps from the lower floor.

“That was really close, Emily.” Nigel whispered to Emily after they went back into Miranda’s suite before gave her two thumbs up as Miranda quickly followed them into her room. “Good job, my girl.”

Emily couldn’t help but roll her eyes and heaved a sigh in a huge relief. “Thanks, Nigel. I’m so grateful.”

“What about Andrea?” Miranda asked. “How can we get her back from the Grand High Witch’s room?”

Nigel turned to smile at Mary with a known glance before shifted his gaze back towards Miranda and motioned her to sit together on the couch while Emily could only cross her hands beside them with a frown on her face after saw Miranda’s twin daughters gave some applauses with a smirk towards her. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Kitty?!” The Grand High Witch suddenly turned to glare at her black cat. “Kitty!!! There you are!!!”

Andrea swallowed as she was now hiding herself and the formula bottle in her paws behind one of those plant pots nearby. She could only watch the black cat slowly walking back towards the Grand High Witch with a drowsy look on its face.

“You naughty cat!!!” The Grand High Witch howled. “Look what you’ve done to my portrait!!!”

Andrea swallowed again as her brown eyes kept watching the Grand High Witch hissing in silence.

“You’re nothing but the naughty and useless pet of mine!!!”

The black cat was suddenly thrown to the large bed by the Grand High Witch who could only huff after heard a loud whimper from her black cat. Andrea couldn’t help but glance at the Grand High Witch after noticed the demon in a female human shape turned to pick up some of her formulas from the back of her oil portrait and put them down on the coffee table.

“Those lazy old witches! Those useless people!”

Andrea carefully leapt out from her recent hideout after heard the clock in the bedroom struck six. She eventually noticed how a sock and the scarves on the floor were now completely torn into pieces by the black cat as she was creeping back into the Grand High Witch’s bedroom again.

As the Grand High Witch finished putting on a robe and went to open the door with an irritated look on her face after heard some loud knocks on her door, the little white mouse suddenly crept to hide under the couch before leapt to hide behind one of the table legs as the clock inside this gigantic room was still striking loud enough to distract everyone in this room from noticing her just in time.

“Here you are, my people! Welcome, welcome. Do not stand out there. I don’t have all night.”

As soon as Andrea’s brown eyes noticed how the front door swiftly swung open, the little white mouse instantly leapt out of the Grand High Witch’s room with a formula bottle in her paws when she noticed how those witches eventually turned their backs against her position after they finally arrived into the Grand High Witch’s living room with a wicked known smile on their faces.

“Oh, God!” Andrea panted in relief after the door was eventually closed behind her. “Never again!” 

“What about this Saturday night? Are you busy?”

Andrea groaned again as her brown eyes saw two hotel maids walking towards her direction before leapt herself out towards the other side of the corridor while clutching a bottle of formula in her paws.

As the little white mouse found herself had been stuck on the way back to Miranda’s suite after trying to hide under the corridor carpet and jump over several pairs of shoes and things she could hide in a brief moment before leapt out from those hideouts in a quick pace, Andrea was about to head into an elevator in hurry when someone rushed to pick her up from behind. “Careful, Andy! It’s out of order!”

Andrea suddenly shrieked. Fortunately, the little white mouse didn’t drop the formula from her paws as her brown eyes turned to watch a woman with blonde hair and glasses in a huge surprise. “Serena?”

“Of course, it’s me.” Serena whispered to Andrea. “I hope I wasn’t late for your tango night, Andy.”

Andrea chuckled after Serena hid her into a black purse. “Well, you’re just on time, Serena. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” She heaved a sigh as they were walking back towards Miranda’s suite together. “You’re lucky. Mr. Stringer didn’t seem to be mad or upset after he saw me with his pen in my hand.”

“Wow! That sounds great! I really can’t thank you enough for what you did today, Serena.”

“Come on, Andy. It’s not a big deal at all.” Serena softly smiled as they eventually went upstairs and reached the sixth floor of this hotel. “Oh! Anyway, before I came up here to rescue you from those… people, I overheard Christian Thompson talking to Mr. Stringer at the foyer. He’s looking for Gracie…”

“Oh, dear.” Andrea muttered. “Everything seems to be out of the frying pan and into the fire tonight.”

“Yeah, you’re right. If he didn’t see his niece in this hotel before midnight, he will call the police.”

Andrea swallowed as her brown eyes exchanged a glance with Serena’s gaze. “But Gracie’s still…”

“Yeah, that’s still one of our main problems. I do really hope and pray that Emily’s grandmother can help you and all the girls before the police will come here with those paparazzi and reporters…”

“Keep calm, Serena. It won’t be any more problems. At least we all know what kind of problems are.”

As they eventually reached the front door of Miranda’s suite, Serena quickly knocked the door and waited for the response until the door was suddenly burst open with an instant glare from Miranda.

“Where’s Andrea? Where is she, Serena? Have you seen her? For God’s sake, Serena. Tell me where…”

As Serena was about to reply to her boss, Andrea suddenly poked her head out of Serena’s purse with a bottle of formula in her paws. “Hey, Miranda! I’ve got a formula for your daughters and Gracie!”

“Thank God, Andrea!” Miranda exclaimed with a broad smile on her pale face as her piercing blue eyes kept watching Andrea climbing on one of her arms after retrieved a formula from the mouse while Serena could only smirk and exchange a glance with Nigel as she softly closed the door behind them. “I thought I wouldn’t get a chance to see you again! Oh, Lord. What you did earlier really startled me.”

“Alright, girls! Let’s go!” Emily motioned all three little mice to follow Mary after they all retrieved the Grand High Witch’s formula from Miranda. “Who wants to drink my grandma’s potion first?”

Gracie suddenly leapt into the other room after Mary while Cassidy and Caroline could only shrug to each other before followed Emily’s pace instantly as Andrea and Miranda were still watching them.

“Do you ever realize how many times I ask you not to do those things I don’t want you to do, Andrea?” 

“I know, Miranda. I’m really sorry.” Andrea sighed as she returned her gaze back towards her boss. “But if I don’t ask you and Nigel to lower me down to her room before then, it might be too late.”

“Of course, you always do something that seems to be impossible to achieve.” Miranda rolled her eyes while carrying Andrea in her palm as she sat down beside Nigel on the couch. “But I do hope you wouldn’t do it again, Andrea. It’s too dangerous. Well, I can’t… bear to see you like that again.”

Andrea simply nodded towards Miranda as she exchanged a smile with Nigel. “Well, I still can’t believe that the Grand High Witch hides all of her formulas behind the portrait of her with my own face, but she really does and it looks so horrible that makes me run like the wind.” She briefly chuckled before finally paused after her brown eyes noticed that Serena was still standing there and smiling at them. “Anyway, Serena has some latest news about Gracie’s uncle, Christian Thompson. It’s emergency.”

Miranda frowned after heard his name before beckoned Serena to step a little bit closer. “What is it?”

Serena bit her lips as her eyes noticed how Emily and Mary eventually started proceeding on making a cure for all the girls after retrieved a formula from Miranda. “Well, I’m afraid we have to hurry them.”

“Why?” Nigel asked Serena in confusion. “What happened? Is something wrong with him?”

“No! No. Not at all. But…” Serena heaved a silent sigh as she sat down beside Nigel and looked at Miranda with concern. “He will call the police if he didn’t see his niece… in person… before midnight. Well, you know what I meant, right? In person. Just like the way we really expected to see Miranda’s daughters and Andy this afternoon...”

“I’m pretty sure we still have some works to do.” Miranda cut Serena off with a glare. “Don’t we?”

“Oh! Of course!” Serena lightly coughed as her eyes caught Miranda’s glare again. “Sorry, Miranda.”

Miranda couldn’t help but purse her lips after Serena went back to work with Nigel in the other room. “Well.” The editor-in-chief returned her glance back towards Andrea. “Perhaps they should expect me not to fire them while they are working here with me during this holidays. What do you think?”

“I think it really takes two to tango, Miranda.” Andrea replied to Miranda with a soft smile on her face. “Well, at least for tonight. Every cloud has a silver lining.”

Miranda simply rolled her eyes. “Just don’t pull all your eggs in one basket like that again, alright?”

Andrea couldn’t help but smile and close her eyes in contentment after Miranda pet her head softly.


	7. Chapter 6: Runway on the Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Emily and her grandmother's latest failure on making the last potion for Andrea who was cursed by the Grand High Witch, Andrea decides to take another risk for her second chance with a little help from Miranda's twin daughters. However, as soon as Andrea, Cassidy and Caroline arrive into the hotel's kitchen with the Grand High Witch's formula bottle, Andrea is completely stunned yet not quite surprised to see her old flame become her latest foe as he notices her and Miranda's daughters as mice.

As Mary, Emily, Gracie and Miranda’s twin daughters came out from the room in an hour later, Miranda’s first assistant couldn’t help but instantly gasp as Miranda stood up from the couch in fury after heard everything that Mary pensively said to all the mice. “What do you mean that you and Emily can’t help Andrea get back into her human form?!” Miranda furiously asked. “What happened?!”

“I’m really sorry, Miss Priestly.” Mary replied to the editor-in-chief with a sad expression on her face. “My granddaughter and I… we have tried our best to mix all the ingredients for making another potion for Andrea. But suddenly, it turned out to be…” Mary heaved another sigh as her own apology. “Unexpected failure for both of us. Andrea was cursed by the Grand High Witch’s a very specific spell. That evil witch’s power is too strong for me and Emily to fight against her spell…”

“This is unacceptable!” Miranda snapped her instant glare towards Emily who could only glance down at the floor after realized how her boss was now completely disappointed and angry at her failure. “How on earth did this happen to my daughters and…?” Miranda bit her trembling lips as she tried to stop her sobbing while looking at Andrea desperately. “If I could turn back time, I swear I won’t…”

“Miranda, it’s not your fault!” Andrea turned to look at Miranda after noticed she was crying again. “Please don’t blame yourself, Miranda. Sometimes, things don’t turn out like the way we expected.”

“Andrea’s right.” Emily eventually said as she tried to brace herself for the upcoming rapid fires from the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine. “I mean, well. Gosh! Keep it together, Emily!” She muttered to herself again as her green eyes noticed another instant glare from Miranda. “I mean… Even though we can’t figure out how to turn Andrea back into her human form, we already knew which room the Grand High Witch stayed in this hotel, right?” Emily huffed and rolled her eyes in disbelief as Mary turned to look at her in surprise. “Come on, grandma! It’s not a big deal, is it? We just go into her room, find something more than her ratty potion and see how we can turn Andrea back into her real form as you said to me before midnight eventually comes in sooner or later!”

“Before midnight?” Andrea frowned as she climbed down from Miranda’s shoulder to Miranda’s hand. “Wait a minute. What do you mean? What will happen to me if we don’t find the cure in time?”

“Well.” Mary heaved another sigh of hopelessness as she exchanged a brief glance with Emily before eventually turned to reply to both Miranda and Andrea with a look of sadness on her face. “If we can’t find your cure before midnight, I’m afraid there won’t be a second chance to break her curse again.”

“What do you mean?” Miranda asked with a slight tone of fear in her voice. “Does this mean that…?”

“Yes.” Emily cut her off with a simple nod. “It means that Andrea will stay as a mouse forever.”

Both Cassidy and Caroline turned to look at each other in shock while Andrea could only swallow as Miranda was shaking her head in disbelief. “No. That cannot be…” Miranda muttered to herself as she limped heavily while pacing back and forth in her room. “There must be some way to bring her back!”

“I know, Miranda.” Emily nodded again as she frantically glanced around the room. “But what if…?”

“What if we really stopped them before midnight?” Andrea suddenly interrupted their thoughts after her brown eyes noticed those curious yet hopeful gazes from Miranda’s twin daughters. “We still have a chance to stop these witches before they get away from this hotel with their evil plan, Miranda! They’ll be joining downstairs at the dining room around eight o’clock.”

“Yeah, but how?” Gracie asked Andrea after Mary put her and the twins down on the coffee table. “Asking them politely?”

“Don’t be so stupid, Gracie!” Caroline frowned at the black mouse. “Oh, I just forgot. You always are!”

“Caroline, language.” Miranda heaved a sigh. She shook her head towards her twin daughters before shrugged at Gracie who could only purse her lips as they turned to look at Andrea at the same time. “What’s your plan, Andrea?” The editor-in-chief asked her with a slight tone of exhaustion. “Tell us.”

Andrea lightly coughed as she turned her gaze to look at Miranda and Emily again. “Well, it might be a bit silly to say, but… I really might have to ask Gracie to do us some favor before our chaos begins.”

As everyone in the room shifted their gazes back towards Gracie, the black mouse couldn’t help but shrug, roll her eyes and purse her lips after realized what Andrea recently had on her mind.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Please tell me you’ll change your mind later, Six. I don’t feel so good about this plan of yours at all.”

“Come on, Nigel. Don’t be so timid. I’ll be fine.” Andrea carefully poked her head out of Nigel’s suit pocket as her nose suddenly smelled some food from one of those waiter’s trays. “Please do trust me, Nigel. At least I’m not going in the demonic pit alone like the first time...”

“Oh, really? My dear, I thought the first time would always be memorable.”

“Nigel…”

“Alright, Six. Alright. Whatever.” Nigel quickly crouched down at the front door of the hotel’s kitchen. “Miranda will surely bury me alive if you don’t come back here with her daughters.” He said to Andrea and both Miranda’s twins as they quickly climbed out from his suit pockets. “And I mean daughters, Six. Not either Cassidy or Caroline. Both of them. Understand?”

“Roger that.” Andrea replied to Nigel with a broad smile on her face and a salute from her little paw. “See you later, Nigel.”

Nigel nodded to Andrea and both Miranda’s daughters with assurance before walked away from the restricted area as his eyes noticed a glimpse of some hotel employees heading towards his direction. 

Andrea sighed before turned to speak to both twins. “Come on, girls. Let’s help me with this thing.”

“Whoa! This formula bottle is quite heavier than I imagined, Andy.” Cassidy exclaimed to Andrea as they started carrying the formula bottle through the vent nearby the door until they finally pulled the bottle into the vent just in time. “The formula works in twenty-five seconds. What should we do?”

“Really, Cassidy? Well, we just put this bottle into those witches’ food and stay tuned for an update.” Caroline replied to her twin sister as she turned to watch Andrea while carrying the bottle together. “Andy, I heard the waiter said that they will serve a corn soup for those witches in the dining room. We have to find where it is and pour this into the soup before we get caught inside this kitchen.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Caro.” Cassidy heaved a sigh as they suddenly noticed the steam and noise from those cooks and waiters below the vent. “I can’t believe this place is so crowded! Where is the soup?”

“There! The big one! On the stove!” Andrea pointed out to both of them as her eyes noticed the large pot on the stove after they all eventually reached towards the end of the vent. “Are you girls ready?”

Both Cassidy and Caroline nodded in unison as Andrea used her tail to drop herself on the shelf below before ushered Miranda’s twins daughters to drop the formula bottle into her paws. As Cassidy and Caroline eventually hopped down on the pot lid in a quick move and instantly joined Andrea by hiding behind the nearby pot on the shelf as they heard the footsteps from those waiters in the kitchen.

“Everyone in the big RSPCC party wants the corn soup!” One of them announced towards the cooks. “No garlic in the soup! This is a special request from Mr. Stringer! No garlic!”

Andrea couldn’t help but frown in amusement as she heard another waiter exclaimed to the cooks. “The old hag on table fifteen wants another portion! The meat is too tough!”

“Come on, guys! Give her some gravy!” One of the cooks laughed before roughly spat on the plate.

Cassidy suddenly put her little paws over her mouth to stop herself from vomiting while Caroline could only mutter and roll her eyes in a total disbelief. “Ew… That’s really hideous and disgusting.”

“Come on, girls. Follow me. We still have a lot of work to do.” Andrea said to both Cassidy and Caroline as she started motioning them to carry the formula bottle on the way towards the large pot which was placed on the stove. It was near an empty basin which was soon to be added by the corn soup.

However, as soon as they eventually reached their destination with the formula bottle while staying on the shelf above the corn soup in the large pot, Andrea couldn’t help but shriek in surprise after her brown eyes suddenly noticed a familiar glimpse of one of those cooks as Cassidy and Caroline unscrewed the bottle and beckoned their mother’s assistant to proceed their plan. “What’s wrong?”

Andrea quickly motioned both Cassidy and Caroline to hide behind the tray nearby before turned to reply to Caroline as she eventually heard what he said to the other cooks. “That’s my ex-boyfriend.”

“What?!” Cassidy’s eyes suddenly widened while watching him carefully. “What’s he doing here?!”

“Come on, Cass. ‘What’s he doing here?!’ Working, of course!” Caroline frowned at her twin sister before turned to look at Andrea thoughtfully. “Wait, are you going to change your mind again, Andy?”

“Of course not, Caroline.” Andrea replied to Caroline as she carefully stepped out from the tray with the formula bottle in her paws. “But Nate… well, my ex-boyfriend… he’s really scared of mice.”

Caroline heaved a sigh of frustration as she and Cassidy followed Andrea to the edge of the shelf. “Gosh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Caroline said after realized what Andrea was doing right now. “You can drop the bottle down into the soup from here, Andy.”

“Yeah, just like you said. But it’s too high.” Andrea audibly swallowed as she glanced down towards the corn soup in that pot again. “We might miss the target if we poured the formula down from here.”

“Oh, no! What should we do now?” Cassidy asked with concern. “He might come back in any time!”

Andrea glanced up from the pot and watched her ex-boyfriend who was still turning his back towards them thoughtfully before turned her gaze back towards the brown mice and motioned them to stay here as her brown eyes eventually noticed the handle below the shelf. “I’ll lower myself down a bit.” Andrea said to them as she crept towards the ledge. “Just pull me up from the handle after I finished pouring this into the corn soup, okay?”

“But that’s too dangerous, Andy!” Cassidy exclaimed after saw Andrea hook her tail around the handle while carrying the bottle in her little paws. “What if you slipped into the…?”

“We’ll pull you up, Andy. Don’t worry.” Caroline reassured her mother’s assistant with a nod as she turned to beckon her twin sister. “Hurry up, Cass! Help her before her ex comes back with that knife!”

“Okay! Okay!” Cassidy frantically nodded to Caroline as Andrea started pouring the formula into the large pot below until the bottle in her paws was completely empty. “Wait, what about the bottle?”

“I’m sure they’d be delighted to have their soups with this special ingredient from their own tastes.” Andrea replied to Cassidy with a smile on her face. However, as soon as the second assistant dropped the empty bottle of Formula 86 down into the pot of corn soup, she suddenly shrieked and panted after realized her tail started to lose a grip from the handle. “Oh, no.” Andy cried. “No! No! Oh, dear!”

“Pull her up now, Cass! Hurry!” Caroline rushed down towards the handle to pull Andrea up. “Quick!”

“Okay!” Cassidy quickly climbed down from the edge to help her twin sister pulling Andrea up from the handle until they eventually gathered at the edge of the shelf just in time before Nate came back. “Wow! That’s too close for getting caught by him.”

“Yeah.” Andrea nodded to Cassidy while panting and watching the pot down below. “Really close.”

Cassidy couldn’t help but shrug with a brief smile on her face. “What time is it?”

Caroline turned to look at the clock on the wall before replied to Cassidy. “Quarter to eight.”

Andrea nodded again. “Alright, we should get back to join Nigel and Serena at the dining room now.”

As Andrea was about to turn her direction towards their exit, Cassidy suddenly yelped and ran away as Nate turned his gaze towards them and watched those mice with fright and shock at the same time. “Mice! Mice over here!” Nate frantically shouted. “Oh my God! There are mice over here!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Caroline rolled her eyes in a total disbelief. “Are you kidding me?!”

Andrea shrieked as her brown eyes noticed a flash of steel from the carving knife in his hand whizzed towards Cassidy’s direction. “Cassidy! Watch out!”

“Whoa!”

Andrea successfully pulled Cassidy out from the whizzing knife in the air before jumped down from the shelf and hit on the floor instantly as soon as Nate tried to chop her tail instead. Both Cassidy and Caroline suddenly jumped on Nate’s left shoulder as he yelped in fright again. The mice quickly followed Andrea’s pace while running and twisting themselves on the floor which were now full of those black boots stamping at them. “Where’s the vent?!” Caroline asked in panic. “I can’t see it!”

“Right there! Quick!” Andrea shouted back as she was about to be chopped off by Nate again. “Whoa!” 

“Get them all before they run away!” One of the cooks shouted at each other. “Quick! Catch them!”

“Call the exterminator now!” Nate exclaimed. “Somebody call the exterminator!”

“Don’t tell your mother about this! Okay?!” Andrea hissed while looking a place to hide until her eyes found one of the cooks’ socks beside her position after another flash of steel turning to her. “Whoa!”

“Oh my God!” The owner of those socks suddenly yelped. “It’s going all the way up! Help me! HELP!”

“Andy!!!” Both Cassidy and Caroline shouted in unison as their eyes found Andrea was climbing on the cook’s squirming body until the second assistant eventually jumped out of him and ran towards the exit route which led them into the vent again. “Andy!!! Look out!”

“Whoa!” 

“Watch out, Andy!” Cassidy cried while running on the floor. “Oh my God! They’re everywhere!!!”

“Whoa!” Andrea jumped after Nate tried to chop her tail again. “This is gonna be bad. This is gonna…”

Caroline pushed both Andrea and Cassidy into the vent as Nate was about to kill Andrea by chopping her alive before twirled herself to avoid his sudden attack and quickly joined both mice inside the vent after Andrea’s ex-boyfriend eventually failed to reach them. “That was really terrifying!” She panted.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Andrea swallowed. “Alright, girls! Let’s get back into the dining room now.”

“What about Gracie?” Cassidy asked her twin sister while heading towards the exit. “Is she alright?”

“Don’t worry about her, Cass. Just follow Andy to the exit and thank our God that we’re still alive!”

“Will Gracie be turned into a girl like us again?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “We might have to take a little effort before having those drinks on our own.”

“Oh, yeah!” Cassidy’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise. “Is she now a girl?!”

“I have no idea, Cass! Perhaps she might be a girl now. She won’t let her uncle call the police and bring those paparazzi to catch up on us before those witches run away with their potions for sure.”

“And how did you know?”

“Time will tell whether I’m right, Cass.” Caroline muttered to her twin sister as they eventually reached towards the exit of the vent. “You know what, I think at least we’ve killed two birds with one stone!”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Nigel could only frown and slightly shake his head in annoyance while his eyes kept watching Christian Thompson, the handsome young man in his finest suits still laughing in contentment at Serena’s joke after exchanging a brief conversation with an enthusiastic manner at their table.

“That’s really remarkable.” Christian picked up his drink to sip a little before turned to look at Serena. “I still can’t believe that someone like you decided to work for someone like Miranda Priestly.”

“I know! Yes, I know. But I really do believe that everyone always has a reason for one’s own action.” Serena replied to Christian with a little smile on her face as her eyes turned to exchange a brief known glance with Nigel. “By the way, I heard you brought your little dear one with you here, too. Am I right?”

“Oh, of course! Yes! Well, she’s my older sister’s daughter. Her name’s Gracie. She just turned twelve. What a nice age for the girl!” Christian chuckled as he sipped his drink again. “Same age as Miranda’s twin right? What are their names again? I’m sorry. Is it Carrie or Carol?”

“It’s Cassidy and Caroline.” Nigel replied to Christian with a hint of irritation under his perfect smile.

“Really?” Christian chuckled again. “Oh, wow! Those are really nice names for them. Don’t you think?”

“Yes.” Serena nodded as she exchanged a known glance with Nigel again. “Is she here with you?”

“Oh, she’s….” Christian shook his head and shrugged. “If you’re looking for her, I guess she’s not…”

“Uncle Christian!”

Christian suddenly turned pale as his gaze shifted from Serena to meet a known glare from his niece. “Gracie?” He stood up from his chair and went towards Gracie who was dressing in the pink dress. “Where have you been all day?! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” 

“We’ll talk later, okay?!” Gracie huffed as she tugged his hand into hers. “I wanna go home right now.”

Christian glared at Gracie in disbelief. “Have you lost your mind?! We just arrived here yesterday!”

“Oh, really? Well, I might have lost my mind if you don’t take me back to my mother tomorrow.” Gracie shrugged as she started walking out from the dining room in a quick pace. “What do you think? Should I tell my mother that I was gone because of your lack on uncle’s duty or should I tell her that… you’re just trying to flirt with another girl from Runway Magazine? Which one should I tell her first?”

Christian suppressed his anger by giving an apologetic smile towards Serena before instantly followed his niece to their room without taking a glance back towards Nigel who couldn’t help but smirk and chuckle as Serena eventually heaved a huge sigh of relief. “That’s quite a tour de force to watch.” 

“Indeed.” Serena muttered as she sipped water in her glass. “Gosh, what now? Where are they?”

“They’re coming here. It’s almost eight.” Nigel replied to Serena as he glanced down at his watch again. “You know what, Serena. I still can’t believe how perfectly Six and Emily dealt with this… incident.”

“Me too, Nigel.” Serena smiled. “I’m so glad that Miranda has both of them as her assistants.”

“Six doesn’t need someone like Gracie’s uncle to get involved with these upcoming shenanigans.”

“Yeah.” Serena cheekily nodded to Nigel as her eyes turned to watch all three mice on the floor closely. “Oh, there you are! Thank God that you didn’t end up with someone like Christian Thompson.”

“Why?” Andrea silently asked Serena after climbed on her colleague’s hand. “Did he flirt with you?”

“Gosh! I can’t even put up with his words and manners, really.” Serena rolled her eyes after carefully carried Andrea and Miranda’s twin daughters on her hand. “I wish Emily was here with me right now.”

“I know, I know.” Andrea smiled broadly at both Nigel and Serena as the woman gently put her and Miranda’s twin daughters into her purse. “You two are like two peas in a pod anyway.”

Serena chuckled as her eyes kept watching them proudly. “How’s your plan? Anything alright?”

“Everything’s fine.” Andrea replied. “We just poured every drop of the formula into their corn soup.”

Nigel heaved a long sigh of relief as he patted the white mouse. “I know you can do it, Six! Well done!”

“Almost smooth as silk.” Caroline added as she followed Cassidy climbing on the top of Serena’s purse. “You guys wouldn’t believe what we found there. Andy’s ex-boyfriend also works here as a chef.”

Andrea lightly coughed as her brown eyes turned to watch Caroline in surprise. “Well, it’s a long story.”

“And he almost chopped our tails as we finished pulling Andy up from the ledge, too! It was so scary!” Cassidy added after climbed on the top of Serena’s purse before she was pulled down by Caroline. “What now, Caro?”

“You’re blocking my view.” Caroline muttered with a frown on her face. “I can’t see them from here.”

“Alright, alright.” Cassidy climbed down and let her twin sister climb beside her. “Wow! Look at them!”

“Are they already here?” Andrea asked both Nigel and Serena in a soft whisper. “What time is it now?”

“Five to eight.” Nigel replied to Andrea with a frown on his face. “She can be here in any minute. Gosh, why do I suddenly feel like I’m having a sudden meeting with Miranda in her office?”

“Well.” Andrea sighed. “According to our task, Jocelyn does have a meeting with Miranda at eight.”

“Oh, and did you…?”

“Miranda will talk to her tomorrow, Nigel. We don’t need to be worried about Jocelyn tonight.”

“Yeah, at least Miranda and Emily might have figured out how to break into that room now.”

“And don’t forget the potion, Nigel.”

Nigel nodded after heard Andrea’s sudden remark. He couldn’t help but wonder if Miranda and Emily could unlock the front door of Room No. 525 with the help from Mary just in time the Grand High Witch eventually arrived into the dining room with her stylish blonde wig and stunning outfits that could be easily found inside the closet of Runway Magazine. His eyes still kept watching the leader of the witches pacing towards her seat while the others were still standing and waiting for her command.

As the Grand High Witch gestured her coven to sit down, Nigel noticed how she eventually sat down on her seat before beckoned one of the waiters to serve the corn soup without garlic into her plate. The Grand High Witch patiently waited until her plate was eventually full of the corn soup. “Enough.”

Nigel couldn’t help but smirk as the Grand High Witch dismissed the waiter and motioned him to serve the rest of the corn soup into the other witches’ plates. “Look how starving they are.” He muttered.

“There are no garlics in that soup, too.” Caroline whispered. “Gosh, their taste buds must be bad.”

Serena couldn’t help but chuckle as she noticed the Grand High Witch frowned after snatched a spoon from the waiter and started eating her corn soup with the special ingredient from Formula 86 when their eyes suddenly met. “Oh, dear.” Serena swallowed. “Please tell me this is not happening.”

Nigel’s smirk gradually faded away as soon as his eyes caught a smirk on the Grand High Witch’s face.

“She noticed me, Nigel! She noticed all of us!”

Nigel sighed in frustration after heard what she said. “For the love of God, Serena! Stop babbling!”

“Please don’t be mad at me!” Serena muttered in her mother language. “She’s coming this way!”

Nigel carefully unfolded his napkin after realized Andrea and Miranda’s daughters were also still here. “Heads down, my ladies. We have a new company here.”

As the Grand High Witch eventually reached towards their table with a glare and a smirk on her face, she instantly raised her right claw inside those long gloves and pointed towards Nigel as their eyes eventually met with a sudden flick of fury between them while Andrea could only pull both Cassidy and Caroline into a tight embrace as she felt their hearts suddenly started pounding in a total fright. 


	8. Chapter 7: The Last Supper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Andrea, Cassidy and Caroline maintain to hide inside Serena's purse after their latest adventure in the hotel's kitchen, they unexpectedly overhear the whole abrupt conversation between Nigel and the Grand High Witch at the dining room. Something mysterious about Nigel and Andrea's past eventually leads to some conclusion about the Grand High Witch's physical appearance and Andrea's latest incident with Miranda's daughters while the witches are enjoying their last meal.

Nigel didn’t even blink his eyes behind those glasses at all after the Grand High Witch stopped her sudden action just before her right claw under those long gloves reached towards his face. “Glasses…” She drawled her words without leaving her glare away from him. 

Nigel could only frown at her in a little surprise after noticed a hint of smirk on her face. “Excuse me?”

“What should we do now, Andy?” Cassidy turned to ask Andrea in a whisper. “Is she gonna kill him?!”

“I really have no idea, Cass.” Andrea swallowed. “But I do pray she won’t for this time. Besides, we’re still hiding and she’s now in public! There’s no way she will slaughter every one of us for her dinner…”

“Hush, hush.” Caroline interrupted both Andrea and Cassidy with a flick of her paw. “She’s here now. We should stay silent and listen to whatever she said to him, shouldn’t we?”

Andrea and Cassidy nodded in unison as they carefully eavesdropped to the upcoming conversation.

“I beg your pardon.” Serena said as her eyes continued gazing at the Grand High Witch in curiosity.

“Glasses...” The Grand High Witch softly hissed while smirking at Nigel. “You were wearing glasses.”

Nigel suddenly coughed as the Grand High Witch slowly pointed her supposed to be a right index finger towards his face before snapped her glare towards Serena after realized the other woman was still looking at her briefly. “You must be misunderstood, madam.” Nigel cleared his throat as his eyes noticed how Serena became tense as she tried her best to avoid looking up at the Grand High Witch while Andrea couldn’t help but carefully stick her head out of Serena’s purse as she and Miranda’s twin daughters heard another slight yet horrified chuckle from the newcomer. “I don’t think I was…”

“You were!” The Grand High Witch hissed again as she snapped her furious glare towards Nigel again. “How dare you try to correct my words, you foolish bald man?!”

Serena silently swallowed as Nigel reluctantly calmed her down with a forced smile on his face.

“Oh, well. As you can see, madam. I’m still wearing them now!” Nigel couldn’t help but playfully smirk at the Grand High Witch although he did acknowledge how frightening the mysterious woman who resembled his colleague truly was after noticed her evil smile gradually disappeared from her lips. “Anyway, have we ever met before?” He slowly tilted his head. “I didn’t feel like we have met…”

“Many years ago.” The Grand High Witch replied to Nigel while glaring at him. “You were quite young. Not bald and… not quite… like this.” She chuckled as her eyes kept watching Nigel and Serena in fury. “And you got away from me.” Her eyes suddenly widened as she continued her words. “Remember?”

Serena’s eyes widened as Nigel gradually frowned at the Grand High Witch in a total disbelief while Cassidy and Caroline could only mutter something to each other after Andrea signaled them to hide.

“Do you still remember what I’ve done to your grandma’s friend? Oh, I think you do. Don’t you, Nigel?”

Serena suddenly gasped at the Grand High Witch’s sudden remark which reminded her of Andrea.

“Do you still remember what happened to Louisa, don’t you?”

Andrea turned her head towards her colleagues with worry after noticed how Nigel suddenly coughed while exchanging a furious gaze with the Grand High Witch who suddenly chuckled at him and Serena. “How do you even know my name?” Nigel asked the Grand High Witch with a deep frown on his face. “You don’t know me and Louisa…”

The Grand High Witch suddenly cooed him with a smirk on her lips as she stepped towards Nigel. “Sweetheart, I really do know you and your poor grandmother’s friend. I really do.” She made a deep hoarse sound while lowering herself until her face was at the same level of Nigel and Serena’s sights. “Just like the way I know your poor little friend and her poor ill-fated grandmother named Mary.”

“You.” Nigel tried to suppress an instant cough after recalled those horrible events from his childhood.

“Poor your little friend, Andrea.” The Grand High Witch slowly lifted her claws under the long gloves. “I almost caught her alive when she was such a sweet little girl. How dare she ran away from me?” She rolled her eyes in amusement. “But, well. My dear, Nigel. I’m so sorry for whatever happened to your grandmother’s friend and your sweet little dear friend. But I’m certainly afraid and convinced that your dear Andrea and your boss’s children cannot be here with you and your companion tonight.” 

“It was you.” Nigel muttered to the Grand High Witch in disbelief. “You were the woman with no face!”

The Grand High Witch could only smirk at Nigel’s recent remark while unashamedly glaring at him. 

“You’re such an evil.” Nigel hissed. “You even claimed Andrea’s appearance for your own damn good!”

Serena watched Nigel’s reaction towards the Grand High Witch in surprise while Cassidy could only frown and mutter the same word at the Grand High Witch as Caroline suddenly noticed something on the Grand High Witch’s glamourous outfit and motioned her twin sister to look at the same direction. “Wait a minute…” Caroline muttered to herself and Cassidy at the same time. “Is that a key?”

Andrea instantly shifted her gaze from Nigel to the Grand High Witch’s outfit after heard what Caroline said to Cassidy. Her brown eyes suddenly widened after noticed how they were be able to reach the key without getting caught from the room owner. “Alright, girls.” Andrea turned to instruct both Cassidy and Caroline to follow her sudden plan. “Here’s what we gonna do…”

“Her beauty is my revenge, sweetheart.” The Grand High Witch drawled as she continued chuckling. “How could I ever forget someone who gave me a lot of great pain after I tried to burn her alive?!”

Serena’s hands were now trembling as she tried to sip some water while looking at Nigel with worry.

“I suppose you should seek some good advices from those cosmetic surgeons, madam.” Nigel scoffed back as he was able to suppress his fear while exchanging an instant glare from the Grand High Witch. “But from what I heard you said, I’m surely you don’t even know what the true power of beauty is.” He slightly laughed at the Grand High Witch after noticed how sudden pale and shock she became. “As you can see, madam. Beauty is not only from the outside. Not only what and how we saw those people on the front cover of our fashion magazine. Beauty also comes from the inside. It comes from the inside of every one of us. From what we think, what we do and what we react to everything else.”

“You stupid fool…”

“You might have her face, her voice and her other physical appearances that remind yourself everyday of how much you really hate her and want to put an end to her life for your own damn good instead! But you can’t avoid the truth, madam! The more you attempt to hate on what you couldn’t have such as love and goodness from our beloved Andrea, the more you will soon to be suffer on everything you lack and despise on your own!”

“Fool!” The Grand High Witch hissed and waved her claw towards him. “How dare you educate me?!”

Andrea swallowed as her little paws almost grabbed the room key from the Grand High Witch’s outfit just in time the Grand High Witch started snarling at both Nigel and Serena while Cassidy and Caroline tried to elevate their feet and help their mother’s assistant to reach out for the key at the same time. 

“Well, I might be such a fool from the way I didn’t know how to rescue my dearest friends indeed.” Nigel replied to the Grand High Witch. “But there’s no way I’ll let you and your coven get away from what you’ve done and what you’re trying to do from now on!”

As Nigel finished his speech with a hint of bravery on his face, Andrea swiftly swiped one of her paws to catch and pull the key from the Grand High Witch’s outfit just in time before the other woman would rise up from the table and turn to the other side of the dining room. “Got it!” Andrea muttered towards Miranda’s twin daughters as soon as she dropped down into Serena’s purse again. “Finally.”

A brief awkward pause suddenly erupted from outside the purse as Andrea quickly secured the key and gathered both Cassidy and Caroline to stay out of the witch’s sights after her eyes noticed a sudden frown on the Grand High Witch’s face. “Are you alright, madam?” Serena adjusted her glasses as she turned to speak to the Grand High Witch with politeness. “You don’t look quite very well.” 

Nigel turned to shift his gaze towards the Grand High Witch. He was about to look over her shoulders when the Grand High Witch came over and hissed at him again. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

Serena was obviously startled by the Grand High Witch’s sudden action while Nigel could only cough lightly as he simply replied to the witch with a cheeky grin. “Me?! I didn’t do anything at all, madam! It must be your perfume or something in this room, I don’t know! Why don’t you just… leave us alone?”

The Grand High Witch tilted her head while switching her gaze towards Nigel who was still fearlessly grinning back at her and Serena who could only avoid her gaze and mutter something in her mother language as soon as they were about to be eventually busted in sooner or later. “Such a nasty…”

As the Grand High Witch was about to finish her sentence with a final deadly act from her right claw, her glare suddenly snapped from Nigel to one of her coven’s tables as soon as some of the other guests in the dining room heard a sudden shriek at the moment. Most of the witches were suddenly startled after noticed some of them were shrieking, panting and running back and forth on the wooden floor before their bodies sprung into the midair and dropped on the floor after they were transformed into something hideous and smaller than themselves in less than minutes.

“RATS!!!” One of the female hotel guests suddenly shrieked and jumped out of her chair as soon as one of those transformed witches ran towards her table. “RATS!!! THEY’RE RATS EVERYWHERE!!!”

Nigel and Serena suddenly shifted their gazes from the Grand High Witch to look over her shoulders.

“OH MY GOD!!! RATS!!! HELP!!!”

“RATS EVERYWHERE!!! OH MY GOD!!!”

As those helpless yet savage rats were constantly rushing into the dining area which was now crowded by the hotel guests, the rest of those other evil witches who were trying to escape from the room, chase the rats on the floor and beg the Grand High Witch to help them were instantly transformed into those hideous rats as soon as they almost reached out to the leader of the coven who could only hiss and glare at the incident. “What are you doing?!” She turned to ask one of those witches in fury.

None of the witches could give her an answer as most of them were completely transformed into rats. The Grand High Witch wildly huffed as soon as she finally rushed out from Nigel and Serena’s tables. 

“HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! THERE ARE RATS OVER HERE!!!”

“OH MY GOD!!! RATS!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!”

“SOMEBODY PLEASE CALL THE EXTERMINATOR!!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!!”

“GET THOSE COOKS AND WAITERS HERE!!! NOW!!!”

Nigel and Serena sighed in relief while Andrea and Miranda’s twin daughters slowly crept out from Serena’s purse to watch the incident with an apparent sign of amusement and relief on their faces.

“WHERE’S THE HOTEL MANAGER?!”

As the hotel cooks and waiters came out from the kitchen with some culinary stuffs in their hands, Nate suddenly jumped and shrieked after noticed a dozen of rats pacing on the dining room’s floor. “OH MY GOD!!!”

“Come on, Nate! Just pick up that broom and hit those rats before Mr. Stringer came here!!!”

Nate attempted his best to exterminate those rats on the floor while carrying the broom in his hands. Unfortunately, as soon as Nate hit one of those rats by the broom, he suddenly shrieked and became tense after realized there was a rat creeping up from his chef pants. “OH MY GOD!!! HELP ME!!!”

“Ouch!” Caroline made an expression of wince and relief at the same time. “That was too close, man.”

“Yeah, too close.” Cassidy nodded. She was about to say towards her twin sister that Nate truly deserved some paybacks when her eyes suddenly noticed a gaze from Andrea. “I’m sorry, Andy.” Cassidy apologetically replied to her mother’s assistant. “We didn’t mean to rub it in about you...” 

“It’s alright, Cass.” Andrea reassured Cassidy by patting her back softly. “We don’t need to worry now.” 

After Nate was suddenly dragged out from the scene by one of his colleagues who came to rescue him just in time before the rat would bite on his flesh, Mr. Stringer eventually arrived into the dining room after noticed some of the hotel guest were rushing out from the room with some hysterical reaction. “Hey! What’s going on here?!” He suddenly asked towards his employees who could only huff and grunt in agony while trying to exterminate those rats by themselves. “Where are those rats from?!”

“I really have no idea, sir!” One of the waiters replied to Mr. Stringer. “The guests said they were…”

As soon as Mr. Stringer turned to notice one of the witches was instantly transformed into a rat while floating in the midair, he suddenly shrieked when the rat eventually clutched on his suit and ran along his entire body until it found something between his legs and used its teeth to bite instantly.

“ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Andrea suddenly put both of her paws over her mouth after saw what the exact thing the rat bit on while Cassidy could only put both of her paws over her ears after noticed how Caroline slightly winced from the horrific sound they heard from Mr. Stringer at the same time as Serena gasped at the sights while Nigel could only swallow and put his hand over his chest.

“SOMEBODY JUST CALL THE EXTERMINATOR!!!” Mr. Stringer wailed in despair. “PLEASE!!!” 

“Let’s get out of here, ladies.” Nigel turned to look at Serena with calm expression on his face. “Come.”

Serena nodded at him in agreement. Both of them slowly rose up from their chairs before stepped out and turned their backs towards Mr. Stringer’s back as they silently headed out of the dining room which was now conquered by most of the rats while most of the hotel guests rushing out with panic.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As soon as Nigel found some safe and secluded spot besides the elevator, he eventually motioned Serena to gently open the purse and let all the mice out from it. “You’re safe now.” Nigel announced.

Andrea carefully climbed on Serena’s hand while Cassidy and Caroline still hovering inside the purse.

“Wow! That’s really unexpected.” Andrea turned to give a broad smile at Nigel who could only chuckle while helping Serena to carry her purse. “I can’t believe we made it!”

“Yeah, a little bit too close for us.” Cassidy remarked while looking at Caroline. “Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, and almost run out of time.” Caroline added as she returned her gaze towards her twin sister.

Nigel chuckled. “I’ve got to say what you girls did to these witches, it gave me a heart attack at once.”

“Oh, well.” Andrea suddenly swallowed and shrugged after heard Nigel’s words. “I didn’t mean to…”

“I’m kidding!” Nigel turned to look at his colleague and Miranda’s daughters with a smile on his face. “Well done, Six! You achieved the most impossible thing again!” He gently patted the white mouse and two brown mice while hiding them from the others’ sights. “Good job, girls! I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Nigel!” Cassidy and Caroline turned to reply to Nigel in unison before turned back to exchange an exuberant high-five towards each other after Andrea came to join them by exchanging those high-fives with them while having a broad smile on her face. 

“Thanks, Nigel.” Andrea turned to look at Nigel again. “I’m so grateful for what you said all about me.”

“Well, as the wise man always says, Six.” Nigel said to Andrea while picking Cassidy and Caroline up from Serena’s purse. “Even Emily has to tell the truth and shame the devil in any other way somehow.”

“Really? But still… we all worked this out!” Andrea clapped her paws with giddy expression as Cassidy and Caroline turned to deliver the key for room number ‘525’ towards Serena while Nigel could only exclaimed “Attagirl!” at all the mice. “Come on, Serena.” Andrea said to her colleague. “Let’s get back to the Grand High Witch’s room before she found out what we are actually doing there.”

Serena nodded in affirmation after secured the key into one of her outfit’s pockets while Cassidy and Caroline could only watch Andrea in surprise and disbelief at the same time. “Hang on a minute, Andy.” Caroline turned to ask Andrea. “What do you mean that you’re going into her room again?”

Andrea silently swallowed as she turned to answer Caroline’s question with a pensive look on her face. “I’m really sorry, girls. But I have to go back in there. I can’t leave your mom and the others to fight against the Grand High Witch on their own. I… I must find the way to break the curse by myself.”

Cassidy’s eyes suddenly became teary after realized what Andrea meant. “Can we go there with you?”

“I’m… I’m really sorry, Cass. But I’m afraid...” Andrea shook her head as she gently wiped those tears from Cassidy’s cheeks while she was also crying this time. “I can’t let both of you take another risk of another adventure with me again.” She gave her broad smile towards Miranda’s twin daughters despite the fact she couldn’t stop those teardrops from her eyes on Serena’s hand. “I’ve promised to your mom that I’ll always do my best to protect you both from every aspect of danger in your life.”

“That’s not fair!” Caroline wailed as she instantly hugged Andrea before joined a group hug with Cassidy who couldn’t help but sob as Andrea gently pushed them away and Nigel eventually came to separate them while carrying the cure in his hand. “We won’t let you leave us like this, Andy! Please! Don’t let us drink this potion while you’re looking for the cure and fighting that evil witch alone!”

As Andrea’s teary brown eyes turned to notice the familiar figure complaining to someone at the hotel reception while scrawling on the paper, the second assistant suddenly gasped after noticed something familiar inside the hotel receptionist’s palm after delivered it towards the hotel guest.

“Andy, what’s wrong?” Serena asked Andrea with a frown on her face. “Anything alright?”

Andrea muttered her answer towards Serena before turned to look at both of Miranda’s daughters for the last time. She apologetically wave at them before stepped away from their sights by climbing back into Serena’s purse again. “I’m… really sorry, girls.” Serena replied to both Cassidy and Caroline as she motioned Nigel to take them into the safest place for drinking the cure from Mary. “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry, Serena.” Nigel reassured Serena with a confident smile on his face. “It will be alright.” 

“Can you stay with us?” Cassidy pleaded as Nigel carefully put her and her twin sister inside his suit’s pocket before eventually stepped away from Serena. “Please, Andy! Don’t go! Don’t leave us like this!”

“Andy! Please! Don’t do this to us! Andy! Please!” Caroline started to weep beside her twin sister after realized Andrea wouldn’t return the answer or even come back to them this time. “Andy! Please!”

“Hush, hush.” Nigel whispered to both them after successfully avoided someone’s gaze at the foyer. “Don’t wake the sleeping giant up from her late night sleep.”

Cassidy and Caroline could only watch everything in front of them in desperation after realized Serena had already reached the elevator and pressed the up button. As soon as the doors eventually opened, Serena quickly went into the elevator and turned back to press the button to close the elevator doors without noticing those furious gazes from the Grand High Witch who could only hiss at the sights and clutch the spare room key in her right claw with a sudden rage.


	9. Chapter 8: The Final Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Miranda, Emily, Mary and Serena break into the Grand High Witch's room with a little help from Andrea who still maintains to hide inside Serena's purse, they unexpectly find the rest of the formula bottles inside the Grand High Witch's bedroom. Unfortunately, their perfect plan for destroying the Grand High Witch's evil plot against children turns out to be something unexpected as soon as Miranda and her crew are about to escape with the Grand High Witch's formula bottles.

Emily irritably grunted after heard her stomach growling in all of a sudden. She and Mary had been trying to unlock the front door of room number 525 with their bare hands after Miranda insisted her first assistant not to use a wand or anything that could be heard from near and afar on this floor which would make those hotel guests and employees become suspicious. “Come on. Come on.” Emily huffed as she eventually failed to unlock the door by using her hairpin. “Bloody hell! Are you kidding me?!”

“Watch out on your language, child.” Mary huffed at her granddaughter. “Keep calm and be quiet.”

“I’m trying to stay as calm as possible, grandma!” Emily shot back to Mary in annoyance. “Good Lord!”

Miranda couldn’t help but roll her eyes and rub her temples as both Emily and Mary stepped away from the front door. “Apparently, we can’t even unlock this goddamn door on time.” Miranda heaved a long sigh. “And we can’t even get a spare key for this room either. So what should we do now?” 

“Looks like we have to break in.” Emily replied as she was about to draw out her old-fashioned pen. “Thank God they don’t have CCTVs around here in this bloody hotel. What time is it now, Miranda?”

Miranda lifted her eyebrows in surprise while watching Emily who turned to look at her. “Excuse me?”

Emily suddenly blushed. “Bollocks!” The first assistant grunted with embarrassment after realized she shouldn’t ask any questions to her boss at all. “I’m really sorry, Miranda. I completely forgot that I…” 

“Whatever you said.” Miranda cut her off after glanced down at her watch. “Almost nine now. Hurry.”

Emily nodded to Miranda as Mary turned her gaze towards the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine who couldn’t help but heave another sigh of frustration again. “We still have time, miss. Don’t worry.”

Miranda nodded to Mary although she couldn’t help but frown as her piercing blue eyes noticed Emily’s sudden glare while focusing on how to unlock the door by using her wand. “What’s wrong?”

“She casted a specific spell on this doorknob.” Emily replied to the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine. “This door needs to be unlocked by the room key only. Gosh! How can we even get that key before…?”

“Thank God! You’re all here.” Serena panted after reached towards all three women. “I’ve got a key!” 

Miranda, Emily and Mary eventually sighed as they shifted their gazes back towards Serena in unison. As Serena beamed while handing the room key which Andrea stole from the Grand High Witch earlier towards Miranda, Emily couldn’t help but heave a long sigh of relief and gratitude at the same time as her green eyes eventually met Serena’s gaze in a brief moment.

“How did you get the key from her?” Miranda asked Serena with a hint of curiosity on her expression.

“Oh, that… Oh, well.” Serena suddenly shifted her gaze back towards Miranda as she awkwardly smiled at Emily and adjusted her glasses at the same time. “Just a little help from our friend, Miranda.”

Miranda absentmindedly nodded to Serena’s answer before stepped in front of the door and quickly inserted the room key into the front door’s keyhole of room number 525. As the editor-in-chief successfully unlocked the front door of room number 525, she hurriedly opened the door and let her crew get into the room before hurriedly locked the door behind her as she arrived into the witch’s lair while Serena and Emily were starting to look for the rest of those formula bottles inside the room.

As Serena’s eyes noticed the Grand High Witch’s sleeping black cat in the cage outside the bedroom, she carefully inspected the black cat in a brief silence while Emily walking back towards Miranda as her green eyes noticed her boss was beckoning her. “Yes, Miranda.” Emily responded to her boss. 

“Andrea said to me earlier that the Grand High Witch hides all of her formulas behind her portrait.” Miranda said to Emily while constantly searching for the ‘Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker’ inside the Grand High Witch’s gigantic bedroom. As their eyes finally noticed where the portrait was, Miranda huffed and flicked her hand towards the portrait of the Grand High Witch after found the overall sight really filled her with disgust. “We need to destroy those bottles as soon as we can so that Grand Evil Horrible witch and her coven won’t get any chances to destroy those children ever again.”

“Don’t worry, Miranda. Leave it to me.” Emily replied to Miranda as she shifted her instant glare towards the portrait of the Grand High Witch. The first assistant hurriedly dragged the portrait down from the wall and peeled off the back of the portrait as soon as she could until her hands eventually reached to grab those formula bottles from the hidden area. “We need to collect them all, Miranda.”

“I’ll find more.” Miranda nodded before took a glance at Serena who was still figuring on how they could do with the Grand High Witch’s black cat who was still locked inside the cage at the corridor. “Earth calling, Serena.” She snapped her fingers towards Serena who suddenly jumped. “Stop dawdle and help me collect these bottles before that witch came back. Now.”

“Yes, Miranda!” Serena replied to Miranda as she unlocked the corridor door and let some fresh air into the bedroom before placed her purse on the coffee table. She heaved a sigh after opened her purse and whispered to Andrea without letting the others know that her small friend was also here. “Be careful, Andy. Nobody knows you’re here with us.” She sighed again. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry, Serena. I won’t say a word about this. Please go help Miranda and Emily. I’ll be alright.”

Serena nodded before stepped away from the purse and helped Miranda finding more formula bottles inside the Grand High Witch’s gigantic bedroom as Andrea silently crept out from the purse and started skittering towards the rug on the floor after noticed Mary came back from the dressing room and found nothing in there.

Andrea hid herself under the rug for a while before started skittering towards the gigantic bed until her brown eyes noticed one of the formula bottles was on the wooden floor under the gigantic bed. “Hmm…” Andrea frowned at her sight while carefully creeping along the way to reach that formula bottle after noticed how the exterminator of this luxurious hotel had installed a lot of mouse traps with some cheese as a bait almost every single unit of the wooden floor including this gigantic bed.

“There must be some bottles in the fridge.” Serena mumbled to herself as she went to open the fridge. “Ah! Here they are.” She walked up to Emily with a smile on her face. “What should we do with them?”

“We’ll destroy them all, of course.” Emily replied to Serena after found those formula bottles inside the fridge. “Do hurry up, Serena. Let’s grab the rest of them before that bloody witch came back here.” 

As Andrea successfully reached towards the half way of her latest destination, the white mouse couldn’t help but mumble to herself as she tried to avoid those mouse traps and went straightforward all at once. “Just like the way that mom and dad said. One for the money.” Andrea swallowed after her feet passed another mouse trap nearby. “Two for the… Whoa!”

“What’s that?” Miranda frowned after instantly heard the sharp cry and loud crack. “What is it?”

“Oh!” Serena swallowed before replied to her boss. “It’s me! I… I tripped over the rug, Miranda. Sorry.”

Miranda rolled her eyes and flicked her hand at Serena before continued searching on her own.

“You didn’t even trip over anything here.” Emily whispered to Serena with a huff. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing!” Serena’s eyes widened while collecting those formula bottles from the fridge. “I’m fine!”

The white mouse under the Grand High Witch’s bed couldn’t help but pant and heave a long sigh after one of those mouse traps almost got her tail earlier. “Okay, Andrea. That’s really a little bit too close.” Andrea heaved a sigh again as she decided to walk on two feet and stepped closer to her destination. “Two… Well, two for the show… Three to make ready…”

“I think that’s all we got from here.” Miranda finally announced to everyone inside the bedroom after she and Mary found the last dozens of the Grand High Witch’s formula bottles from those drawers behind her. “Put the rest of them inside those buckets and let’s get out of here as soon as we can.”

“Yes, Miranda!” Emily and Serena replied to Miranda in unison after they collected all formula bottles and poured them into those empty ice buckets before handed them to Mary as Andrea’s little paws eventually grabbed the last bottle up from the wooden floor while hiding under the gigantic bed.

“And four to go!” Andrea smirked to herself as she carried the bottle and stepped away from the trap.

“What about that cat over there?” Serena asked Emily as her eyes drifted towards the black cat again. 

As Andrea’s brown eyes gradually shifted her gaze from the bottle to the door in front of her sights, the white mouse suddenly gasped as the door quietly swung open and closed after those feet slowly took off those glamorous shoes beside the threshold. Those feet with an ugly toe were standing still behind the headboard although Andrea could sense that they were now constantly closer to the bed as her brown eyes noticed a long pair of gloves were also tossed down beside those shoes all at once.

Emily sighed before replied to Serena. “I’ll ask Mr. Stringer to let him out once we got out of here.”

Andrea suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t even dare to breathe as her brown eyes slowly widened while her little paws were still clutching the formula bottle to her pounding chest.

“Alright, I think we’re all done here. Let’s go back to Miranda’s with these formula bottles, grandma.” Emily gradually frowned as her green eyes noticed how Mary became reluctant. “Grandma?”

“Move!” Mary suddenly raised her wand as her gaze turned to meet a fiery glare from the headboard.

Andrea was about to retreat herself into Serena’s purse with the last formula bottle in her little paws when the white mouse heard an instant loud crack with Serena’s sudden shriek and Miranda’s gasp.

“Watch out, Miranda!” Emily gently pushed Miranda backward as the Grand High Witch grunted at them before demolished the headboard and instantly threw it into the dressing room with a full rage.

“You fool!” The Grand High Witch snarled as she noticed Mary’s gaze. “Look what you made me do!”

“Good heavens!” Miranda Priestly absentmindedly exclaimed to herself as she eventually realized how the Grand High Witch’s physical appearance really reminded her of Andrea Sachs. “How can she be…?”

“Yes, and I still can’t believe in what I saw earlier, too.” Serena whispered to her boss. “It’s incredible.” 

Emily huffed as she instinctively drew out her wand while Mary kept glaring at the beautiful yet ruthless witch in a total disbelief. “Well, well. It’s been long time since we met each other, hasn’t it?” Mary said to the Grand High Witch with a hint of smirk on her face. “Lilith?”

The Grand High Witch replied to Mary by giving a snort of disgust as her eyes shifted towards Emily, Miranda’s first assistant who still remained silent while pointing a magic wand towards her direction. A brief pause suddenly erupted between them after Emily clutched her wand and started smirking while the Grand High Witch couldn’t help but frown as her eyes eventually noticed some significant resemblance of physical appearances between Mary and Emily. “Impossible.” The Grand High Witch angrily hissed to both Emily and Mary as soon as she eventually realized one of the biggest mistakes she ever made was the one she mistook another young brunette girl as Mary’s actual granddaughter. “This cannot be real! This cannot be! You’re not…”

“Of course, it’s me! You Grand High Dumb Witch!” Emily replied to the Grand High Witch with a huff. “My real name is Emily Marilyn Charlton and I’m the one and only granddaughter of Marilyn Charlton!”

“There’s no way your grandmother can still be alive!!!” The Grand High Witch shifted her furious gaze from both Charltons towards other two women as she pulled out another room key from her ample bosom before raised it in front of them. “Well, well, well. Look what you all made me do, poor humans! You think you’re so clever enough to break into my room with a stolen key after you found out that I have casted some of my specific spells on my doorknob! But well, it seems you all forgot, didn’t you? You all forgot that everyone knows… that every hotel in this world has a spare key!”

Serena winced as the Grand High Witch tossed the spare key into the dressing room which was now completely disastrous while Miranda could only glare at the Grand High Witch in disgust as she started to speak to the mysterious yet deadly creature for the first time. “Enough talking, you horrible woman. We’ll never let you get away with your filthy evil plot this time.”

The Grand High Witch couldn’t help but lift her eyebrows as her eyes met an icy glare from Miranda.

“There’s no way you will ever get any other chances for the next time to do whatever you want again!”

“Oh! Wow!” The Grand High Witch eventually smirked at Miranda. “Really? Who’s gonna stop me?!” She hissed as her fiery eyes still glaring towards the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine and her crew with a smug attitude. “Do tell me why, then. Why do the icy demeanor and ruthless editor-in-chief of this… vile fashion magazine like you… still think that those demanding yet helpless little twelve-year-old twin brats… and the poor dearest lover-assistant of yours can stop someone like me?!”

“Because I know someone who is truly evil and ruthless like you won’t be able to do much nothing!”

“Oh, is that so?!” The Grand High Witch shot back to Miranda with an instant glare from Andrea’s face. “Do entertain me, then! The Icy Dragon Queen of Runway. Why shan’t I be able to do much nothing?!”

Miranda couldn’t help but frown and purse her lips in distress as her piercing blue eyes kept watching the Grand High Witch’s smug reaction in a total disbelief while Mary could only shake her head after realized the biggest part of their latest plan turned out to be a complete failure as her eyes kept watching the Grand High Witch scoffing and mimicking the mouse transformation at the same time.

“Why hasn’t she transform into a mouse?” Emily asked Serena in a harsh whisper while her green eyes kept watching the Grand High Witch’s reaction as her wand still aiming towards the horrible witch.

Andrea was creeping back towards the rug with the last formula bottle in her paws as her brown eyes noticed those drawers which Miranda had opened them to collect those formula bottles earlier before the Grand High Witch arrived into this room and found out what they were doing right now. “Oh.”

Serena heavily sighed as she replied to Emily. “It depends on which one do you prefer to hear it first.”

“Good Lord! Serena! Please don’t tell me that she didn’t drink the corn soup while she was there...”

“I’m afraid she didn’t.” Serena audibly swallowed. “She was interrupted by us while we were there.”

Emily couldn’t help but roll her eyes and mutter some words as she heard the Grand High Witch roar.

“You stupid fools!” The Grand High Witch shook her head. “Your good hearts are all as black as mine! There’s no way you can defeat me! Let alone your stupid little helpless children or your disgusted…”

As Miranda furiously turned to pick up a flower vase from the drawer nearby, the Grand High Witch immediately snapped both of her claws and unleashed some blue sparks towards the editor-in-chief.

Those hazardous blue sparks hit both Miranda’s hands instantly before the flower vase would be dropped on the floor and was shattered in all of a sudden with a loud crack. “ARGH!” Miranda yelped as she felt a sudden constant burns on her hands. “HELP! ARGH! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!”

“Miranda!” Serena cried out loud as Miranda started whimpering in pain while struggling to stop those blue sparks from burning her hands. “Oh, no! Emily! Mary! We’ve got to do something! Miranda!”

Mary flicked her wand towards Miranda’s hands as the Grand High Witch turned to grab Serena’s neck by flicking both of her claws and unleashed another hazardous blue sparks on her shoulders until Serena started struggling to breathe before Emily would rescue her with a magic spell from her wand.

“Poor your little fools.” The Grand High Witch drawled and smirked again. “Such a useless act of good!”

“There’s no way you can win this game, Lilith!” Mary snapped her glare towards the Grand High Witch after Emily successfully rescued both Miranda and Serena in time. “Perhaps you might forget the truth that the one who laughs last, surely he laughs best and laughs better than someone wicked like you!”

As the Grand High Witch flicked her right claw and unleashed some blue sparks of ball fires towards Mary with a sudden rage, Emily instantly stepped over with a blue old-fashioned pen as a wand in her hand and prevented their enemy’s attack by casting a magical shield while Andrea could only gape, clutch the bottle and watch the sight in astonishment as Emily and Mary fiercely started co-dueling magical spells while fighting back against the Grand High Witch inside the gigantic bedroom together.

“Teamwork against me?!” The Grand High Witch scoffed before smirked at them. “Looks interesting…”

Andrea swallowed. Her brown eyes suddenly widened after the Grand High Witch broke the shield.

“We’ve got to do something now, grandma!” Emily said to Mary as she casted another magical shield. “Is there any other way that we can take her down before we’re all gonna die in this bloody room?!”

Mary couldn’t help but frown while trying to figure out how they can take the Grand High Witch down as Andrea turned to watch Miranda and Serena with worry after Serena hurriedly took Miranda’s arm and desperately hid themselves behind the large sofa nearby the coffee table inside the bedroom.

“I think I might know how to take her down, Miranda.” Serena whispered to Miranda as her eyes kept watching the dueling magical spells between the Charltons and the Grand High Witch in astonishment. “But I’m not quite sure if this gonna work out. You might not agree with me anyway.”

“Quit babbling, Serena.” Miranda hissed back after grabbed the ashtray from the small table nearby.

Serena frowned as Miranda carefully looked at the ashtray in her hands. “Are you gonna smoke here?”

Miranda huffed as her piercing blue eyes returned a glare towards her employee. “What’s your plan?” 

Andrea couldn’t help but frown and close her eyes all at once as her instant racing thoughts started to recall those horrifying events from her past in all of a sudden on her mind again. “Come on, Andy. There must be some way we can take her down…””

_“Come here, little girl. I have some candies for you…”_

Andrea shivered after those events reminded her of a little brunette girl who wore pigtails while dressing in a white shirt and a pair of blue overalls at the age of six. That poor frightened little girl suddenly ran away from that mysterious yet frightening female creature which made the young girl eventually realized in all of a sudden that the creature had no faces under the black veil at all.

_“Don’t you dare… get away from me, you little brat!!! Come back here!!! You stupid brat!!!”_

As Andrea Sachs turned her gaze back towards the monstrous creature under the disguise of a woman, another woman with long curly red hair and green eyes suddenly stepped out and away from the dark with a wooden pen in her hand before everything in front of the girl’s sight went completely as black as the same night she realized the fact that it was the first time she encountered the Grand High Witch.

_“GRANDMA!!!”_

The last thing Andrea at the age of six had seen before her parents took her back to their home at Ohio was the sight of another red hair girl in her age who was constantly wailing beside her parents after they found out that the girl’s grandmother was eventually disappeared without a trace. 

_“Grandma!!! No!!! I don’t believe it!!! She’s not dead!!! Let me go!!! Grandma!!! Where are you?!”_

Andrea winced at the latest sound of a loud crack on the wooden floor. She suddenly opened her eyes and found that Emily’s wand was now on the floor as Miranda’s first assistant eventually succumbed to an instant injury at her wrist after encountered a sudden attack from the Grand High Witch’s claws.

Serena shook her head with teary eyes in disbelief after witnessed everything in front of her sight while Emily was glaring at the Grand High Witch in fury after crouched on the floor and winced loudly.

“See? I told you, you poor fools!” The Grand High Witch burst out her gruesome laugh as she slowly flicked her right claw towards Mary who hurriedly crouched beside her granddaughter and inspected her granddaughter’s injury with worry. “There’s no one in this world can defeat me! Not even you! Your poor sick woman! You should have died since I burnt you alive! Let me see… Oh, only this time… I won’t repeat my mistake ever again because this time you and your actual stupid granddaughter won’t even have a chance to be survived!!! I’ll reach into both of your chests and take out both of your hearts in front of your helpless friends!!! I’ll rip those hearts until they burst!!!”

Mary’s eyes suddenly widened as the Grand High Witch started stretching those strong claws towards her and her injured granddaughter in a slightly moderate yet deadly pace. She hugged Emily in a tight embrace as her eyes kept glaring at the Grand High Witch while Serena who recently finished briefing her newest plan to Miranda and crying at the same time, suddenly realized what her little friend was doing after noticed how Andrea opened the lid by using her mouse teeth and carefully stepped on the set of the mouse trap nearby the sofa with the last formula bottle and the bottle lid in her little paws. 

“Your trash talk won’t scare us anyway, Lilith!” Mary smirked to the Grand High Witch despite the fact that she was totally distressed. “You won’t stand a chance to survive and hurt us ever again!”

“Oh, but I think you should be scared of me.” The Grand High Witch snarled as her lips started smirking. “Because the last thing you all will see before you die in here is my snickering face!” 

As Emily’s green eyes turned to notice an ashtray in Miranda’s hand and the last formula bottle in Andrea’s little paws while standing on the set of the mouse trap, the first assistant couldn’t help but smiled towards them with teary eyes of gratitude before returned her suddenly glare towards the Grand High Witch as she immediately stood up from the wooden floor with her grandmother and drew her wand in another hand towards the Grand High Witch again. “I believe…” Emily shot back. “With every fiber of my being and everything that my grandma had always told me, love will always triumph over hatred and evil. Even though I didn’t have any chances to prove it until now, but I swear to God and everyone I love that I won’t let my fear of you to take my grandma from me again!”

“Is that so?” The Grand High Witch scoffed as both of her claws were about to reach the Charltons. 

“You may have tried to kill Andrea, taken every single aspect of her true beauty into your own damn demonic goods and turned her into a mouse like my boss’s daughters and Christian Thompson’s niece, but my grandma and I will make sure that you and the rest of any other witches in this world never get any other chances to transform any children ever again! You won’t stand a chance ever again!!!”

As the Grand High Witch’s claws were soon to reach towards Emily and Mary at the same time, Serena signaled Miranda to throw an ashtray towards the Grand High Witch just in time before the evil witch could reach out her claws towards their faces. After the Grand High Witch screeched at the sudden pain on her forehead and realized it was from Miranda who threw an ashtray towards her direction, Andrea quickly threw the bottle lid on the mouse trap after realized what the Grand High Witch was going to do with her claws again as Miranda’s piercing blue eyes suddenly widened in a total fright.

“You stupid devil wears Prada…” The Grand High Witch hissed. “You will never get away from me!!!”

As Andrea’s entire body and the last formula bottle in her paws were sprung up from the mouse trap, the little white mouse quickly pushed the opening bottle towards the Grand High Witch’s direction while floating in the midair until her brown eyes noticed another blue sparks of ball fires were coming from those deadly claws and instantly heading towards Miranda’s direction.

“Miranda!!!” Andrea cried while floating in the midair. “Watch out!!!”

Serena instinctively dragged Miranda out and stepped away from the sofa as the Grand High Witch threw those fire balls towards them while Emily was casting a magical spell on the formula bottle to push further towards her enemy with a little help from her grandmother. “Come on.” Emily grunted.

“You ugly fools!!! Stupid rodents!!! There’s no way you all can’t defeat me!!! You can’t kill me!!!” 

As Miranda accidentally tripped over the rug, her piercing blue eyes suddenly widened in shock after realized how fast of those deadly ball fires were heading towards her and Serena in less than minutes.

“Watch out those sparks!” Emily shouted back towards Miranda and Serena. “Stay away from them!!!”

Mary hurriedly casted another magic shield by using her golden ring at Miranda and Serena’s position as one of those hazardous blue sparks directly hit on Andrea’s chest while the white mouse was floating in the midair. The magical spark pushed her body into a backward spin towards the wall nearby until her small back was forcefully hit on the wall. She gradually fell down on the floor in all of a sudden as her brown eyes noticed Miranda who suddenly cried in shock.

“Andrea!!!” Miranda rushed back to her second assistant after found the mouse became unconscious.

“You pathetic fools! When midnight comes, your sweet little friend will stay as a mouse… FOREVER!!!”

“Now!” Emily drew her wand as Mary casted another magical spell towards the Grand High Witch.

Every single tiny drop of the last bottle which labelled as ‘Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker’ went straight into the Grand High Witch’s sudden gape after her left claw was suddenly injured from Mary’s lethal spell. That powerful spell made her shriek and accidentally swallowed the whole drop of her own potion before choke the empty bottle out with an expression of a total disbelief on her face.

“No… NO!!! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!! I CAN’T BE DEFEATED!!! NO ONE CAN DEFEAT ME!!!”

As both witch hunters looked at the Grand High Witch who was now completely defeated by them, they couldn’t help but sigh in relief while watching their enemy started transforming into a mouse as the Grand High Witch started struggling to stand on the wooden floor before she went up and climbed on her gigantic bed with those fiery purple iris which were glaring at both of them. “See? I told you.” Mary said to the Grand High Witch while aiming her wand at her. “You won’t win this time.” 

“YOU PIECE OF TRASH AND RODENT!!!” The Grand High Witch shrieked at the Charltons as soon as she started squeezing and turning into a smaller figure before she would be eventually transformed into a big hideous rat who was now hissing. “DO YOU THINK THIS IS WHAT YOU CALLED VICTORY?!”

“Bloody hell!” Emily jumped and shrieked out loud as the Grand High Witch who was now… just a rat, rushed towards Miranda’s first assistant in a sudden rage. “Whoa! Get away from me, you nasty rat!!!”

“YOU STUPID BRITISH WITCHHUNTER!!! YOU FOOL!!! I’M GONNA GET YOU!!! COME BACK HERE!!!”

“Whoa!!! Grandma!!! Good Heavens!!! Somebody!!! Miranda!!! Please!!! Help me!!!”

As the Grand High Witch rushed up towards the coffee table and was about to jump on Emily who couldn’t help but pant and shout more words in fright, Serena quickly put the empty ice bucket over the Grand High Witch’s current position just in time before the rat could reach towards her colleague.

“What?!” The Grand High Witch glanced around her lockup in confusion. “WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS?!”

“Finally.” Serena couldn’t help but sigh, slightly shake her head and smirk at the Grand High Witch. “You know what, little ratty. I think we’re all really done listening to your trash talk. Gosh! So boring.”

“WHAT IS THIS?!” The Grand High Witch groaned while pushing the bucket. “LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!”

With a huff, Miranda came over to the Grand High Witch and put a pile of books on the empty bucket as the rat was about to escape. “Well.” Miranda wiped her tears away as she hurriedly returned to pick up the unconscious white mouse from the floor. “I’m sure we’ll have a lot of things to discuss…”

“YOU WILL NEVER GET WHAT YOU WANT, ICY DRAGON! NOT EVEN THE WAY TO BREAK MY CURSE!!!” 

Even though Emily was apparently frightened at the sight of another hideous rodent before her eyes, she couldn’t help but smirk and shrug in amusement with her grandmother. “Well, you do deserve it. You dumb witch.” Emily clicked her tongue and shrugged as she and Serena confidently walked past the Grand High Witch in the bucket until her green eyes noticed something was lying on the floor. “Hey, hey. What is this?” She asked her colleague after picked it up from the floor. “Such a big one.”

“This might be a key to something.” Serena replied to Emily as her eyes looked around the bedroom. “Perhaps it’s for her luggage or something particular inside her room…”

“THAT’S MY KEY! THAT’S MY KEY!!! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF MY KEY!!!”

“It’s one of the keys for those trunks over there. Well, that might be the last trunk we’ll ever get.” 

Miranda suddenly turned her teary gaze towards Andrea who eventually become conscious again. “Andrea!” The editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine heaved a long sigh of relief. She carefully petted the white mouse’s head as she noticed how Andrea winced from the wound on her chest. “Thank God! Andrea! Are you alright?! I saw you were hit on the wall there! God! You had a little wound on...”

“Don’t worry, Miranda.” Andrea smiled despite her wince as she slowly stood up on her boss’s palm. “I’ll be fine.” Her brown eyes couldn’t help but widen in surprise as she noticed the Grand High Witch was grunting inside the empty bucket on the coffee table. “Oh, did I miss something around here?”

“YOU STUPID RODENT!!! DO YOU THINK THIS IS WHAT YOU CALLED VICTORY?! YOU STUPID FOOL!!!”

“Blah, blah, blah.” Emily rolled her eyes as Serena started unlocking the big trunk at her side. “Blah.”

“GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF MY TRUNK!!! EVERYTHING IS MINE!!! LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!”

Despite the Grand High Witch’s howl of anguish and anger towards Miranda and her crew while she was now helplessly locked inside the empty ice bucket on the coffee table, Emily and Serena couldn’t help but exchange their known glances with a huge grin on their faces as they eventually found lots of interesting and mysterious stuffs including a large sum of U.S. Dollar notes inside the last big trunk while Mary was totally surprised after found the large list of all the witches’ names and addresses inside the Grand High Witch’s black notebook which was hidden inside the little drawer of the trunk.

“We can seek out those witches and hunt them down by using these formula bottles, my dear child!”

Emily simply nodded to her grandmother in agreement as Serena took out some of U.S. Dollar notes from the trunk. “Oh my God! I can’t believe I’ll get a chance to see this huge sum of money in my life! This money can make us rich and become entrepreneurs like you have mentioned to me, Emily!”

“Are you and Emily still considering to quit both of your job position at Runway, Serena?”

Serena swallowed as her eyes noticed a soft glare from Miranda who couldn’t help but icily chuckle. “Oh! No, no. No! There’s no way I’ll quit from my position at Runway, Miranda. I’m just kidding…”

“I love my job. I love my job. I really do love my job.” Emily kept repeating her mantra while hurriedly helping both Mary and Serena to relocate those formula bottles into the trunk drawers. “I really do.”

“GET AWAY FROM MY TRUNK!!! YOU UGLY SCOUNDRELS!!! GET AWAY FROM WHAT IS MINE!!!”

Andrea couldn’t help but shrug in amusement as her brown eyes finally met Miranda’s soft gaze again. “At least we’re totally safe from now on, Miranda. The Grand High Witch can’t harm us anymore.” 

“Yes.” Miranda pensively nodded to her second assistant. “But still, that Grand Horrible Witch won’t even let us know how to break the curse and transform you back as a human. Perhaps we need to…”

“It’s gonna be alright, Miranda.” Andrea reassured Miranda with a smile on her face as the editor-in-chief joined Emily and Serena again after they eventually closed the trunk. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Miranda nodded to Andrea’s words with a hint of smile on her face. After her piercing blue eyes turned to watch the Grand High Witch inside the empty ice bucket for the last time, the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine couldn’t help but purse her lips as her gaze thoughtfully shifted from the rat to the black cat inside the cage at the corridor. As the Grand High Witch followed Miranda’s gaze and realized what she was looking at the outside of her bedroom, the rat suddenly panicked and shook her head. “No, no, no. Don’t do that. Don’t do that. DON’T DO THAT!!! DON’T EVER DO THAT!!!”

Both Mary and Emily smirked back towards each other in pride after Miranda gently put Andrea back into Serena’s purse. As Miranda motioned Serena to open the corridor’s doors and unleashed the Grand High Witch’s black cat from its cage with a flick of her hand, the Grand High Witch shrieked in fright as her cat immediately jumped down on the floor and rushed on the coffee table with a glare.

“I’m pretty sure you two will have some fun without our intervention this time.” Miranda drawled with a smirk as she eventually stepped away from the coffee table and led her crew towards the door. “Come on, ladies. We have a lot of things to discuss further on our latest cover and other… stuffs.”

“Yes, Miranda!” Miranda’s crews including Andrea who was now in Serena’s purse replied in unison as both Emily and Serena carefully carried the Grand High Witch’s trunk out of her gigantic bedroom.

While the Grand High Witch was desperately pleading to her black furious cat with a huff and a grunt, Andrea couldn’t help but carefully stick her head out of Serena’s purse as the giant black cat started growling at its ex-mistress who was now just a big hideous rat shouting against the feline in her sight.

“Nice kitty! You’re very nice kitty… YOU STUPID CAT!!!” The Grand High Witch snarled at the black cat after saw those front paws swiped the first two large books down from her giant transparent cage. “GET YOUR PAWS AWAY FROM ME!!! No! NO!!! YOU STUPID CAT!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!”

The black cat thoughtfully licked its mouth while glaring at the Grand High Witch inside the ice bucket. As those paws eventually swiped the last pile of books from the top of an ice bucket, the black cat forwardly pushed the ice bucket further until both the rat and the bucket fell down on the ground.

“No, no, no, no. DON’T COME NEAR ME, KITTY!!! My precious kitty! My love!!!”

The black cat hissed towards the Grand High Witch after saw the rat was stuck inside the bucket again.

“Precious kitty!!! Please!!! My love!!! Remember who feeds you… DON’T THINK ABOUT FOOD!!!”

As Andrea decided to take a brief glance at the Grand High Witch for the last time, the white mouse suddenly winced and shifted her gaze away as the Grand High Witch shrieked when the black cat growled before instantly jumped towards her with those paws. Fortunately, both Miranda’s assistants didn’t have to encounter another nightmare in their lives again as Mary carefully closed and locked the front door of the room number 525 in silence after Serena and her granddaughter went out of the room with the Grand High Witch’s trunk while Miranda was carrying Serena’s purse in her hands.

“Did you guys hear that?” Andrea asked all the women with a slight frown on her face after Miranda lifted the purse up while heading back towards the room number 625 at the sixth floor. “Oh my God! I still can’t believe that revenge is a dish best served cold. But somehow this is truly the best indeed.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Andrea.” Miranda rolled her eyes and smirked in amusement as she saw a hint of smile on Andrea’s face. “I didn’t hear a thing and we didn’t hear anything at all.”

Andrea couldn’t help but chuckle and smile in an expression of huge relief as Emily, Mary and Serena followed them with the Grand High Witch’s trunk in their grasps while walking back upstairs together until they finally reached at the front door of room number 625 with a very serene smile on their faces despite their brief exhaustion and some physical injuries which were still apparent on them until now.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Nigel immediately stood up from the couch after heard a soft knock on the front door. “Who’s that?”

Miranda couldn’t help but roll her eyes after realized Nigel could dawdle like the way Serena did. “Move at a glacial pace, Nigel. You know how that really thrills me.”

Nigel quickly opened the door of room number 625 with a long sigh and a bright smile on his face after realized it was Miranda. As soon as the door was opened, Miranda quickly went to hug him and both of her twin daughters who came to greet them with a weep with joy at the same time. “Mommy!”

“Hello, Bobbseys!” Even though Miranda couldn’t help but weep and smile with the exact manner to both of her daughters after learned that Nigel let Cassidy and Caroline drink the cure which eventually led them back into their real selves again, the editor-in-chief’s blue eyes still lingered on Serena’s purse absentmindedly after released both her daughters who was now in pajamas and Nigel from her hug.

“Where’s Andy?” Caroline asked her mother after realized no one mentioned her mother’s assistant.

Miranda let out a deep sigh as her piercing blue eyes returned to meet her twin daughters’ gazes.

Cassidy put both of her hands over her mouth in shock as the worst scenario came into her mind again. “Mom, please tell me and Caro that the Grand High Witch didn’t kill her…”

“Hello, girls!”

As Cassidy and Caroline suddenly noticed the white mouse crept out from Serena’s purse and quickly joined their gentle pets with a hint of amusement on her face, they couldn’t help but gasp in relief and surprise at the same time as their eyes found a small wound on Andrea’s chest. “Andy, is that…?”

“Hey! It’s a not big deal.” Andrea reassured both Cassidy and Caroline by raising her paw in a salute. “Everyone has a wound! I’m gonna be alright, Cass. Oh, Caro! Please don’t be sad. I’m already here.”

Caroline looked at her mother’s assistant with an expression of melancholy while Cassidy could only mutter her words which could be inaudibly read such as ‘It looks large!’ and ‘Oh my God!’ as Miranda ushered her daughters to take Andrea into her bedroom before stepped into her suite with Mary and the rest of her crew after Nigel hurriedly motioned them to come in.

“What happened to our Six?” Nigel asked Miranda after locked the door and noticed a slight frown on her face. “And… Lord, what is this?” He shifted his gaze towards the Grand High Witch’s big trunk behind Serena and Emily. “And… Lord, what is this? Must be heavy!”

Miranda couldn’t help but smile at Nigel as she returned another signature icy glare towards her remaining crew after overheard her daughters would take care of Andrea on their own while Emily attempting to heal her wrist by using some particular herbs from her grandmother. “We were looking for the rest of the formula bottles. Unfortunately, That Grand High Witch came in before we got out and started attacking us.”

Nigel put his hand over his chest as Serena swallowed while exchanging a brief glance with Emily.

“I really have no idea on how Andrea came into that room again, but she really did come to rescue Miranda and help us defeat the Grand High Witch.” Emily’s green eyes shifted to meet Nigel’s gaze. “Well, she got that wound from one of those deadly sparks before that evil horrible witch would be transformed into a huge rat after encountered my grandma’s spell and had a taste of her own potion!”

Nigel nodded to Emily’s answer although he couldn’t help but slightly chuckle as he correctly pictured on how Miranda first assistant reacted towards the actual scene earlier. “And how was she? Is she…?”

“If you precisely mean that bloody Grand High witch, Nigel. Yes! She’s officially dead inside her room!”

Nigel chuckled again as Emily eventually shook her head while Miranda was heading back to pick up her iPad before returned to sit on the couch. “How’s the current situation, Nigel?” The editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine asked him after motioned both Nigel and Emily to sit on the couch together. “Please do not bore me with any more of your excuses. Whatever happened today, just don’t say it.” 

Nigel exchanged his known glance towards both Miranda and Emily while opening his notebook. “Well, Miranda. I’ve got two recent news from Jocelyn just before you came back here. Which one will you prefer to hear from me first?” He couldn’t help but swallow after noticed an instant glare from Miranda who was now back into her dragon mode again. “Alright, the good news is Irv Ravitz seems to approve on everything we’ve done so far and we don’t need to re-edit anything much further than we expected them to be changed before tomorrow. Well, at least we just re-edit inside the Book.”

Miranda nodded as she started to rub her temples and her nose again. “What about the other one?” 

Nigel swallowed again. This time it was clearly audible to both Serena and Mary who had been starting to recolor Grand High Witch’s trunk which would certainly help them to be avoided from Mr. Stringer’s skeptical reaction and other suspicious hotel employees. “Well, the other one…” Nigel lightly coughed. “We have to submit the rest of everything we’ve done so far inside the Book before midnight.”

Miranda frowned. She pursed her lips before heaved a sigh in frustration. “This is truly unacceptable.”

“I know, Miranda. I know.” Nigel couldn’t help but sigh and mutter along his friend as he noticed how grumpy Emily eventually became in all of a sudden. “But we have to make sure that Jocelyn and Paul know about this sudden change of plan. I should have let you know about Irv’s response. I’m so…”

Miranda flicked her hand towards Nigel as she simply understood what he exactly meant before returned her icy yet known glare towards Emily who suddenly started to write down on her iPad. “Emily, contact our photographer. Ask him for the rest of those re-shoots from last week. Send them to me before ten-thirty. I don’t care what any excuses from him this time. Tell him it’s emergency.”

“Yes, Miranda.” Emily replied to her boss while searching the list on her iPad before started composing an emergency email to their photographer as Nigel returned his known glance towards Miranda.

“Nigel, I think we need to change those colors on the dots of model’s dress.” Miranda handed her iPad towards Nigel after noticed a smile on his face. “I know it’s not what I should ask from you since you’re working for Runway Men, but I’m really… I really need your help this time.”

“Hey, come here.” Nigel reassured Miranda with a genuine smile on his face and a pat on her shoulder. “I’m really appreciated from everything we have including our friendship. Even though what happened between us in Paris really did hurt me and… well, almost everyone here.”

As Nigel shifted his gaze towards Emily who couldn’t help but bite her lips as she recalled those bitter memories in a brief moment, Miranda’s first assistant suddenly shook her head before returned to work for her boss and Runway Magazine again. “I’m so grateful that they’re still here with me and my Bobbseys.” Miranda whispered to Nigel after realized how cruel she was. “And so are you, Nigel.”

“I’m glad.” Nigel sighed in contentment. “And I really want you to know one thing, Miranda. No matter what happens and comes between us, you will always have me by your side.” He reluctantly paused as his eyes noticed those tears which Miranda tried to blink away from her sight as soon as possible. “You still have us.”

“I almost lost her, Nigel.” Miranda bit her trembling lips as her piercing blue eyes met his glance again. “I almost lost Andrea in Paris. I almost lost Emily from my erupt decision. And now, I almost lost both of my daughters and both of my assistants from what I never thought it would become a nightmare.”

“But the Grand High Witch is dead, Miranda! You’ve got your daughters back and they’re still alive! Just like Emily, Andrea and the rest of us! You even brought Emily’s grandma back into her life despite these unfortunate events that happened to every one of us! That’s how we called miracle, isn’t it?!”

Emily couldn’t help but shift her known gaze towards both Mary and Serena who were smiling back at her in silence after overheard the entire conversation between Miranda and Nigel while gratefully trying to sort everything out in this room all at once before the clock would finally strike midnight.

As Miranda’s piercing blue eyes eventually met an everlasting glance from those familiar brown eyes after both of her twin daughters walked out from the bedroom’s doorway and carried the white mouse back towards their mother who was also the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine, Miranda couldn’t help but smile and weep with joy all at once as Cassidy gently delivered Andrea into her hand and Caroline pressed a soft kiss on her mother’s right cheek to reassure Miranda and everyone that everything would be alright after all despite the initial despairing reaction from the editor-in-chief who attempted to suppress her sob while exchanging unspoken words and known glances with everyone in this room after they all had realized the horrible truth from the Grand High Witch’s specific curse.

Miranda deeply wished she could bring Andrea back. She deeply wished tomorrow would never come.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As their final conflict ends with everyone's victory and the witches' ultimate defeat, Miranda eventually learn how to rescue Andrea from the Grand High Witch's specific curse as the last stroke of midnight rings which leads everyone to their happiness once again as well as Serena who can't help but confess something to Emily after realizes the meaning and the essence of time.

As Nigel sent his last edit of the Book into Miranda’s email, he suddenly yawned and blinked twice.

“At least we’re still on the budget.” Nigel said with a hint of smirk on his face. “Goodnight, everyone.”

“Goodnight, Nigel.” Serena closed her laptop and stood up from the couch before glanced at Miranda.

As Miranda took off her glasses, she noticed Emily eventually hit the send button on her iPad before stretched both of her arms with a huff. Cassidy gradually yawned before chuckled with Caroline after realized that both of them unexpectedly yawned in unison at the same time.

“Alright, Bobbseys. It’s time for bed.” Miranda said as she turned her gaze towards her twin daughters. “Tomorrow we’re going back home.”

Cassidy’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise. “But mom, we didn’t want to go to bed before…”

“I won’t repeat myself, Cassidy.” Miranda interrupted. “Get Caroline up and go to bed now. That’s all.”

Even though Caroline couldn’t help but sigh before muttered some inaudible words to Cassidy after realized their mother’s recent announcement was their final verdict, they couldn’t help but giggle towards each other as their eyes noticed Emily was trying to blink drowsiness away after let out a huff.

“I heard you, girls.” Emily shifted her gaze towards Miranda’s twin daughters. “It’s almost midnight.”

Cassidy stopped giggling as soon as she noticed her mother was now looking at both her and Caroline after re-edited the Book on her iPad. Serena couldn’t help but beam as her eyes noticed how Caroline motioned Cassidy to stand up before pulled Emily up from the couch together. “What are you doing?!”

“Come on, Emily. Let’s go to bed.” Caroline said to Emily with a cheeky grin on her face. “Shall we?”

Emily’s green eyes widened in surprise as Caroline started pulling her. “But I’m not feeling drowsy!”

“Would you read us a bedtime story, Emily?” Cassidy asked Emily with a smile on her face. “Please?”

Emily audibly swallowed. Her green eyes still widened after noticed the soft chuckle from Andrea who remained standing on the small table nearby the couch. “Why don’t you just help me?!” She mouthed her question towards the white mouse in a harsh whisper as both Cassidy and Caroline started pulling their mother’s first assistant into the girls’ bedroom. “It’s not even included in my job description!”

“Alright, Bobbseys.” Miranda put down her iPad before stood up from the couch. “Enough pranking.” 

As the editor-in-chief motioned both of her daughters to go into their bedroom by tilting her head, they eventually let Miranda have a goodnight kiss on their cheeks before walked back to peck on Andrea’s head in unison as Miranda and her second assistant were looking at them in astonishment.

“Goodnight, Andy.” Cassidy said to Andrea as Caroline let Emily accompany them to their bedroom.

“Goodnight, Cassidy.” Andrea smiled and waved to both Cassidy and Caroline. “Goodnight, Caroline.”

“And don’t forget to kiss Andy goodnight, mom.” Caroline chuckled before let Emily close the door. 

Andrea couldn’t help but grin as Miranda let out a soft sigh in contentment and turned her gaze from her daughters to her second assistant. “Don’t worry about Emily, Andrea. She will get used to this.”

Andrea chuckled before carefully climbed down from the table and crept towards the large couch as Miranda returned to sit down on her previous spot, picked up her iPad, put on her glasses and lied her entire back on the armrest again. “I’m so glad that Emily’s grandmother is still alive.” Andrea said to Miranda as she gazed towards Emily’s direction. “Honestly, I couldn’t be happier and more grateful than I ever was indeed. Mary and Emily truly deserved their happiness since this accident happened.”

Miranda shifted her gaze from the screen towards the little white mouse who was now at her feet. “Come here.” She gently picked Andrea up from the couch and placed the mouse on one of her knees as she slowly shifted herself up from the armrest. “You know how much I really hate to repeat myself, Andrea.” Miranda briefly smiled at her sight after saw Andrea was finally able to stand on her knee while exchanging their glances. “But I really do think and feel responsible about this thing all the time.”

Andrea couldn’t help but wonder what Miranda meant as her brown eyes watched her boss closely. “What do you mean about it, Miranda?” She asked Miranda in a soft whisper. “I… I don’t understand.”

Serena couldn’t help but timidly cough as she exchanged a known glance with Emily’s grandmother. 

Miranda remained silent to Andrea while trying to re-edit the last page of the Book until she eventually finished her work. The editor-in-chief returned her gaze towards the little white mouse on her knee as she carefully put her iPad on the coffee table. “Well, it’s your happiness. Of course.” Miranda replied to Andrea as she took off her eyeglasses and placed them on the small table. “What else could it be?”

“My… My happiness?” Andrea stuttered the word in confusion as her brown eyes suddenly widened. “But I’m just your assistant, Miranda. Why does my happiness have to be one of your responsibilities?”

“For goodness’ sake, Andrea!” Miranda huffed as she lowered her face to meet Andrea’s gaze in the same level of her second assistant’s sight. “Do you ever realize how many times I should have told you that you’re more than my assistant?! I thought you had figured out what it’s going on between us!”

An awkward pause instantly erupted between two women as the editor-in-chief gaped and blushed on her sudden confession after realized Andrea’s brown eyes also widened at her in surprise. “Oh!” Andrea exclaimed after noticed how they were now accidentally closer yet opposite to each other as Miranda was struggling to shift herself up from the armrest without letting the little white mouse fall from her knee. “Whoa! Careful, Miranda! You have to pick me up from your knee before… Whoa!” Andrea instinctively clutched on Miranda’s palm before looked up at her boss with the wonder in her eyes as Miranda helped her up just in time before she eventually fell down on the couch. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Miranda muttered. “Forgive me. I was too overwhelmed about what I said earlier.” 

“Well…” Andrea shrugged after stood on Miranda’s palm. “I never thought you’d be a clumsy person.”

Miranda couldn’t help but roll her eyes after helped Andrea up from her knee. “Is that a compliment?”

Andrea couldn’t help but chuckle and smile in contentment as Miranda lifted one of her eyebrows and smirked to her at the same time. “Honestly, Miranda. That’s one of not so many things I can say out loud about I’m really honest on what I feel towards you.” Andrea paused her words as her brown eyes instantly met those piercing blue eyes from Miranda. “But... I really do, Miranda. I wish I really knew how I could say everything that has been on my mind since the day I realized what it is. I wish I could say them like the way I always babble to anyone else. But you’re not just anyone. You’re simply you.”

Miranda gradually glanced away from Andrea as soon as she realized her eyes were teary. “And?”

Andrea heaved a long sigh of disquiet before stretched up her entire body and reached her little paws towards Miranda’s warm cheeks to wipe those tears away. “I really wish we could have more time.” The white mouse smiled pensively. “Even if it’s already too late for us to start everything over again.”

Miranda shook her head as she softly petted Andrea’s head while trying to suppress her sudden sob. “Don’t be silly, Andrea.” Miranda returned her smile towards the white mouse although she was still desperately crying with utter hopelessness after realized that Andrea, the woman she truly loved, might remain as a pet mouse forever. “There must be some way to break this stupid curse.” Miranda heaved a sigh while looking at Andrea solemnly. “You don’t want to stay as a mouse forever, do you?”

“Although I really do enjoy being a mouse, it doesn’t mean that I want to stay as a mouse forever.” Andrea lightly chuckled while gently wiping those tears away from her boss’s face who couldn’t help but purse her lips after saw the little white mouse was chuckling at her words. “As far as we all know about the Grand High Witch’s curse, I can’t even hang out to my friends and I also can’t go to… well, almost everywhere while being like this… and now… I can’t even work for you as your assistant, too.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Stop babbling, Andrea. You’ll stay with me and my daughters from now on.”

“Please, Miranda. I really don’t want to impose on you despite the fact that now I’m just a pet mouse.”

“Nonsense, silly girl.” Miranda slightly shook her head as she stood up from the couch and headed towards the bed with the white mouse on her palm. “There’s no way that we will leave you deal with this problem alone, Andrea. We’ll find the way to fix this. If we really can’t fix this, I’ll take care of you. Well, I mean… not only me but also my daughters.” Miranda blushed again after realized what she had said to Andrea. “And don’t ever worry about Patricia, I’m sure she’ll understand what happened. Just leave the rest of everything on my shoulders, Andrea. Everything is going to be alright. Trust me.”

“Well.” Andrea looked at Miranda with gratitude. “Being Atlas on the runway is not easy, Miranda.”

Miranda couldn’t help but smirk. “You’re right, Andrea. But I do still feel like I’m just a girl sometimes.” 

Andrea simply nodded to Miranda with a broad smile on her face as her brown eyes eventually met those piercing blue eyes again even though Mary couldn’t help but look at both Serena and Emily with worry after noticed how her granddaughter returned from the bedroom with a big sign of weariness. “Are you alright, my dear child?” Mary turned to ask Emily with concern. “You look extremely tired.”

“I’m fine, grandma. Don’t worry about me. I’m really fine.” Emily shifted her gaze towards both Andrea and Miranda before heaved a sigh of frustration. “I just wished we could have more time to figure out how we can help Miranda and break that bloody curse of the Grand High Witch before Andrea would turn out to be a freaking mouse forever! Good Lord! That’s all I’m thinking inside my head right now!”

Serena suddenly gasped in shock as her eyes noticed the time on her watch. “Oh, no! It’s almost…”

“You’re totally right, my dear.” Mary heaved a sigh as she glanced at Serena. “We need to hurry.”

Emily looked at both Serena and her grandmother with a frown on her face before hurried herself up to Miranda’s gigantic bed after realized the moment of truth would arrive as the clock struck midnight. “I’m really sorry, Miranda. I wish… No, I mean… Gosh, Emily!” Emily heaved a long sigh and rubbed her temples before continued the rest of her words while looking at both Miranda and Andrea with concern. “I’ve done my best to help Andrea get back into her real form, Miranda. But I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Emily…” Andrea was stunned after noticed Emily was trying to hold back her tears. “Please don’t cry.”

“I’m really sorry for whatever happened to Andrea and your children today from that Hell High Witch. But please do believe me, Miranda. Those things I’ve just figured out to break this bloody curse away, they will finally make us run out of time! Whatever we choose for helping Andrea before midnight, the result from our choice won’t help us break this curse from that bloody Grand High Witch at all!”

Miranda remained silent towards Emily’s explanation while wiping all those tears away from her face. The editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine couldn’t help but take a look at Andrea with an apologetic expression and teary eyes as she carefully lifted her palm and eventually met Andrea’s soft gaze again. “I know that most people might see you as a mouse, Andrea.” She whispered to her second assistant on her trembling palm as soon as she realized the clock nearby was about to strike midnight soon. “Despite those whiskers, those little paws and the rest of everything on your appearance as a mouse, the only thing I always see and realize in a single glance that it’s truly you, is your eyes, my darling. They’re always bright, shining and beautiful like the way you always are. You’re my best impossible.”

Emily, Mary and Serena were completely astonished by Miranda’s love confession as well as Andrea who couldn’t help but try to blink away her own tears of joy after Miranda gently petted on her head.

“I really wish I could turn back time to say all the things I should have said to you before it’s too late.”

“Miranda…” Andrea wiped her own tears as she stepped closer to Miranda. “Look at me, it’s alright. I’m still right here. In front of your eyes. There’s no way I will leave you, your daughters and everyone from your life. I may have to remain as a mouse forever, but it doesn’t mean that I will leave you and run away from you like the way I… well, I did almost run away from you in Paris. Well, of course, I did. But I also did come back to you after all… I promise I won’t let those stupid mistakes happen again.”

Emily couldn’t help but huff and roll her eyes in a brief annoyance after realized one of Andrea’s stupid accidents also related to one of her own stupid accidents on the street prior the Paris Fashion Week.

“It wouldn’t make much different, Andrea.” Miranda sobbed. “A mouse only lives for three years.”

Emily was about to huff and roll her eyes again when she suddenly noticed her grandmother’s glance. “Wait a minute…” Emily snapped her drowsy gaze towards both Miranda and Andrea in all of a sudden. “Andrea is not an ordinary mouse, Miranda! She was cursed by the Grand High Witch’s specific spell! She’s not just a mouse for sure! She’s a…” Miranda’s first assistant audibly swallowed in a brief fright as her green eyes turned to watch the white mouse on Miranda’s palm closely. “A mouse person!”

Even though Miranda’s palm was constantly trembling from being overwhelmed, Andrea couldn’t help but reassure her boss’s confidence by clutching and nuzzling on Miranda’s thumb with tenderness.

“Andrea.” Emily suddenly huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Are you still listening to me?”

“Oh!” Andrea quickly shifted herself and turned to look at Emily. “Oh, yes! Yes! Sorry, Em. We’re just…”

“Whatever you said, Andrea. It won’t bother me a bit.” Emily slowly drew her wand from her outfit and aimed towards her little colleague’s position. “Damn.” She muttered after realized her wand was now totally useless for breaking the Grand High Witch’s curse. “What are we gonna do now, grandma? There’s no way I can cast a spell without injuring myself all over again! Good Lord! I do love my job!”

“From what I have learned while hiding as a mouse for several years, it’s quite complicated to answer.” Mary replied to her granddaughter with a frown on her face. “Usually mice do live about three years. But since we all have known that Andrea is not an ordinary mouse but a mouse person like me, Gracie Thompson and Miss Priestly’s twin daughters had been before then, I’m really… well, I’m quite certain that Andrea will almost certainly live for three times as long as an ordinary mouse.”

“For the love of God, grandma!” Emily rolled her eyes. “Is that what you’re asking me right now?!”

“I still remember how much you loathe mathematics, my dear child. And yes! It’s about nine years.”

“Nine years?!” Miranda exclaimed in shock while looking at Andrea on her palm. “Only nine years?!”

“Yes, Miranda. Nine years.” Mary pensively nodded. “I’m afraid it’s the one and only fact we got from the Grand High Witch’s curse in spite of the fact that I was survived from her spell with a bit of luck.”

Serena couldn’t help but quickly wipe her own tears while looking back and forth at both Charltons. “There must be some way to break this curse before midnight! We must hurry and do something!”

“I’m afraid that only God knows all the answer, my dear.” Mary responded to Serena before turned to look at the clock nearby the wall with great sadness on her face. “Although now I’m still wondering what the Grand High Witch had on her stupid mind just in time before she decided to curse Andrea and transform her into a mouse, it must be something that the Grand High Witch does really loathe.”

As time constantly went by on the clock before them, Miranda couldn’t help but shake her head and sob in silence as her piercing blue eyes found Andrea’s teary gaze through those beautiful brown eyes. The editor-in-chief carefully placed her second assistant on the blanket before sat down beside the white mouse at the end of the bed as she started to cry over again. “Andrea.” Miranda gently petted Andrea’s head while suppressing her sudden sob as her blue eyes watching the white mouse closely. “I know we really don’t have much time to say, but I really have to ask you something before I’ll never have a chance to say it again. Would you mind if I ask you something?”

“I wouldn’t mind at all.” Andrea replied to Miranda with a pensive smile on her face. “Please ask me.”

Miranda smiled at the white mouse in desperation. “Do you believe in the heart of a mouse, Andrea?”

Andrea couldn’t help but look at Miranda with an affection. “I guess I… well, I haven’t heard about it.”

“To be honest, Andrea. I couldn’t believe it at first. But apparently, it’s quite true. It’s really true.”

“Really?” Andrea suddenly blushed as Miranda lowered her face to her sights. “What does it mean?”

“The heart of a mouse.” Miranda couldn’t help but roll her eyes after repeated her own word again. “It means that your heart is beating at the rate of five hundred times a minute. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Wow! That sounds…” Andrea frowned in disbelief even though her smile on those lips was apparent. “Well, it sounds almost impossible to make someone believe that it’s totally real, Miranda.”

“Of course it does sounds impossible, Andrea.” Miranda sighed with a hint of brief smile on her face. “But what I’m telling you here is whatever you do for me and my daughters, it’s truly a miracle for us. I must say it’s really impossible for me, hearing those separate beats from your heart. But whenever I hear a soft humming sound from your heart, it always reminds me of how wonderful you always are. That soft humming sound… I always hear it when you’re lying very close to me on the pillow at night.”

Andrea couldn’t help but sigh at her sight in serene contentment as Miranda gently petted her cheek while Emily, Serena and Mary were constantly shifting their gazes from each other to the clock nearby as the time was about to strike midnight sooner or later. “Oh, no! It’s only one minute left before…” Serena whispered with worry as her eyes shifted to Andrea and Miranda again. “Dear God Almighty.”

Emily huffed as she raised her wand up and glared at it thoughtfully. “Gosh, please give me a sign!!!” 

“Thank you, Miranda.” Andrea smiled as she softly whispered to Miranda. “Thank you for everything.” 

Miranda genuinely returned her smile at the white mouse despite the time was soon to be run out. “You make it real for me, Andrea. I’m so grateful that you’re always here with me and my daughters.”

As the sound of striking time from the clock rang up in all of a sudden, Andrea couldn’t help but sigh as her brown eyes found Miranda’s gaze again. “Will you live another nine years with me, Miranda?”

Miranda couldn’t help but sigh and roll her eyes in desperation. “Of course, silly girl. What a question.” She bit her lips as Andrea stepped closer to her face. “I do wish tomorrow would never come but…”

Andrea put her paws over Miranda’s lips. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t mind being a mouse at all.”

As the last stroke of midnight was about to break a rapt silence inside this room, Miranda eventually pulled Andrea closer to her face and gently placed a firm kiss on the little white mouse’s head as Andrea was about to say those three little words before the last stroke would erupt in all of a sudden.

“Is that?” Emily gaped at her sight while watching both Miranda and Andrea’s act in a total disbelief.

“Oh my God! I knew it!” Serena suddenly turned to look at both Emily and Mary with a hopeful smile on her face. “How can we forget this kind of breaking the curse in those fairytales?! A true love kiss!!!”

“Wait a minute!” Emily snapped her glance back towards her colleague in shock. “Are you telling me that the Grand High Witch loathes Andrea’s beauty and her act of heroism by cursing her into a mouse and let us believe that there was no way to break this stupid curse before midnight unless Andrea was kissed by her one and only true love who turns out to be our boss slash the mother of those girls?!”

Serena proudly smirked as she crossed her arms while exchanging a fierce yet warm glance with Emily. “I guess that’s the way it is.” She turned to watch Miranda and Andrea at the bed without taking a glance back at Emily who could only mumble some inaudible words to herself while they were all witnessing the aftermath of Andrea being kissed by Miranda. “Oh, no! Don’t tell me it doesn’t work!”

“Serena…” Emily was about to object Serena when she was suddenly gripped on her shoulders. “Hey!”

“It’s already midnight, Emily! Why doesn’t Andy turn back into her real self after she kissed Miranda?!”

Emily gaped at Serena in surprise. “Wait. Are you out of your mind, Serena?! It’s not even my fault!!!”

“Of course, it is!” Serena shot back to her colleague with a teary glare. “You don’t believe in love!!!”

“Are you crazy?!” Emily rolled her eyes. “Who said I don’t believe in this kind of crazy stupid thing?!”

As Serena started wailing inaudibly while watching Miranda crying at her sight, Emily couldn’t help but pull her colleague into her embrace as her green eyes watched Andrea who eventually closed her eyes and nuzzled against Miranda’s lips after the moment of truth had come as midnight eventually passed.

Even though the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine frequently heard those three little words from almost every single scene in romantic comedy films, not to mention those ones she had loved once and ended up being married before got an eventual divorce from them, Miranda couldn’t help but desperately cry as she wanted to hear those words from Andrea before attempted to reciprocate her feelings once and again after noticed her teardrops were now on Andrea’s head.

As Miranda carefully wiped her own teardrops on the little white mouse’s head, those droplets of her tears gradually flowed down from her palm and hit on the mouse’s small wound. Miranda was about to put Andrea up into her palm and carry to one of those pillows when those hazardous blue sparks of the Grand High Witch’s magical spell came out from the wound and instantly hit the editor’s hand.

“Miranda!” Emily and Serena cried in unison as Miranda suddenly stepped backward in fright and joined Serena who could only gape and watch the scene in shock after saw an explosion at her sight.

“What’s going on?!” Miranda asked in fright while desperately looking at Andrea. “What happened?!”

Andrea suddenly opened her eyes after heard Miranda’s frantic voice. She tried to reach out her paws towards Miranda as the woman hurried back to take her out from those blue sparks when the mouse was sprung up from the bedsheet in rapid motion. “Help!” Andrea cried as her brown eyes noticed how suddenly she became larger and larger while floating in the air until those blue sparks eventually became sparse and flew away from the room as Mary and Emily quickly casted their defensive spells.

“What’s that smell?!” Emily asked Mary after all those blue sparks were entirely gone from their sights.

“Andrea!” Miranda cried as she rushed to rescue Andrea after noticed a smoke at the end of her bed. “Serena! Emily! Turn off those fire alarms! Now!”

“Yes, Miranda!” Emily and Serena hurried away to disable all those fire alarms in Miranda’s suite as the editor-in-chief started coughing and stumbled after her hands reached out to the end of her bed.

“Andrea!” Miranda coughed again as her piercing blue eyes was looking for the little white mouse in desperation. “Please tell me you’re still there… Please tell me you’re not leaving me again… Please…”

As both of Miranda’s hands eventually reached to the familiar shape of female human’s head after the smoke was all cleared from her sight, the editor-in-chief of Runway suddenly gasped in surprise as her piercing blue eyes noticed the one and only gaze she loved from those beautiful brown eyes with a familiar physical appearance which exactly resembled her second assistant. Her long brunette hair with wispy bangs was still as same as those delicate features on her face while watching Miranda’s reaction with the gaze of love and affection despite a visible scar on her chest from earlier accident.

“Miranda, it’s me.” The woman eventually said to Miranda with a smile on her face. “Truly this time.”

Miranda frowned at the woman. She couldn’t help but purse her lips in curiosity and a brief denial as her hands were cupping the woman’s face while her gaze still lingered on a scar on the woman’s chest.

“Did I miss… something… here?” Serena frowned while watching both Miranda and Andrea in surprise as Mary shushed her with a wave while Emily could only watch her boss and her colleague in shock.

“Miranda?” The woman’s smile gradually faded away from her face as soon as she realized Miranda still remain silent towards her while looking at her in confusion and disbelief at the same time. “I’m…”

As the woman lifted her right hand to cradle Miranda’s face, Miranda couldn’t help but weep with joy as she finally realized those familiar touches from the woman’s hand were totally as impossible and real as the way Andrea always looked at her with those bright, shining and beautiful eyes. “Andrea…”

Andrea heaved a long sigh of relief with happy tears in her beautiful eyes. She immediately pulled Miranda into her warm embrace and gently placed a firm kiss on her lips as Miranda held her tight and murmured those sweet words after Andrea reluctantly pulled her away from their first actual kiss.

“Nigel!” Serena shrieked with excitement as she ran back into Nigel’s room. “Nigel! We did it! Nigel!”

“Should I…?” Emily nodded to Mary as she eventually understood what her grandmother meant before hurried back to the girls’ bedroom. “Alright, alright! Here comes the nanny! Girls! Andy’s back!” 

“I’m not dreaming, aren’t I?” Miranda whispered to Andrea as their eyes met again. “You came back!”

Andrea’s broad smile reappeared on her face while cradling Miranda in her arms. “You made it real, Miranda. This time it’s you who achieved the most impossible! You made me survived from the curse!”

Miranda couldn’t help but sigh in contentment as she reciprocated their kiss on Andrea’s lips again.

Mary constantly watched both women in silence with a hint of smile on her face after realized both she and her granddaughter ultimately defeated the Grand High Witch and the rest of her coven inside this luxurious hotel. As Nigel rushed into Miranda’s suite with Cassidy and Caroline who were totally wide awake after heard Emily and Serena’s shout at the same time, they suddenly exclaimed in joy and congratulation after Miranda and Andrea turned to look at them with gratitude when Emily suddenly shrieked in horror after her green eyes found something she shouldn’t have noticed it at all.

“BLOODY HELL!!!” Emily exclaimed after turned her back against Miranda and Andrea. “MY EYES!!!”

“What’s wrong, Emily?” Serena hurriedly went up to her colleague with worry. “What happened?”

“MY EYES!!! OH MY GOD!!! ANDREA!!! NOT AGAIN!!! MY EYES!!! BLOODY HELL!!! MY EYES!!!” 

As Andrea glanced down, she suddenly blushed and quickly pulled the blanket down to cover herself after realized she was obviously full-frontal in front of Miranda and the others’ gazes. “Sorry, guys!”

Miranda quickly averted her eyes to both of her children before sighed in relief as she noticed how fast Serena put both of her hands over Cassidy’s eyes. Even though Nigel couldn’t help but smirk at his sights just before Caroline could have a chance to notice what happened to both of their mother’s assistants, Emily was truly horrified after her green eyes accidentally saw Andrea in her birthday suit.

“I promise I won’t let this kind of… well, this… happen again.” Andrea meekly smiled to everyone after her naked body was now completely under her control of the blanket and wouldn’t be exposed to anyone except Miranda’s piercing blue eyes ever again. “I’m really sorry, Emily. Can you forgive me?”

“No!” Emily couldn’t help but huff and glare at Andrea as Nigel eventually uncovered Caroline’s sights before hurried to join a hug with both Miranda and Andrea who were still sitting at the end of the bed.

“Oh my God!!! I can’t believe it! You did it, Six! You overcame that bloody curse!!! Congratulations!!!”

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Nigel!” Andrea humbly responded to Nigel’s words as Miranda gradually leaned on one of her shoulders and smirked at him. “Gosh, I can’t believe it’s gonna be true! This is such a huge leap of faith for every one of us! I thought we will be in the twilight zone forever!”

“Well, perhaps we won’t stay in there forever as your established relationship with the devil already started from now on, my dear friend. Just get her some nice room like this and… go consummate.” Nigel winked back at both women as Miranda pursed her lips and playfully slapped on his shoulder. “She’s blushing! At least you know how to tame a dragon in a good way, Six! That won’t be a problem!”

As Nigel signaled Serena to take her hands off of Cassidy’s face, Serena hurriedly obeyed his command. 

“Oh my God! Andy! Miranda!” Serena shrieked and beamed as she came up to hug both Miranda and Andrea in excitement despite the fact that Miranda was apparently surprised after returned her a hug while Andrea could only chuckle and clap her hands in amusement. “Oh, Andy! I thought I’ll never see you again as a person!” Serena sighed and turned to look at Miranda in shock after realized what she had done to her boss. “Oh! Oh my God! I’m so… I’m sorry, Miranda! I forgot that you didn’t like to…”

“Whatever you said or do it to me this time, it won’t bother me that much.”

“Really?!” Serena’s eyes widened in a total surprise as Andrea chuckled again. “Can I hug you again?”

Although the editor-in-chief couldn’t help but purse her lips while absentmindedly glaring at Serena, Miranda eventually motioned her employee to hug her tightly for the last time before she returned to remain at Andrea’s side as Nigel quickly came to pull Serena off of Miranda after they heard the voice of Miranda’s twin daughters who hurried to hug both their mother and her assistant turned-to-be their stepmother at the same time. “Thank God, mama!” Cassidy beamed. “We’ve got you back!”

“Mama?” Andrea was totally surprised after realized what Cassidy had called her. “That is totally…”

“What?” Miranda turned to look at Andrea with a slight frown on her face. “Does it make you cringe?”

“No, Miranda.” Andrea replied to Miranda. “I was going to reply to Cass that I’m humbly appreciated.”

“We didn’t intend to make Andy cringe, mom.” Caroline protested while looking at her mom sincerely. “Although Cass’s choice of words to call Andy is totally weird for me, we both agree to refer Andy as our mama despite the fact we were mice and Andy wasn’t a bear but also a mouse at that moment. She always protects every one of us like the way you always do, mom. She deserves to be our mama.”

Miranda was stunned after realized what her daughters truly meant by their words. “Are you sure?”

Cassidy glanced at Caroline before replied to their mother. “Well, as long as you, Andy and we are together as a family, that wouldn’t be much a problem for us and Patricia at all. What do you think?”

Miranda couldn’t help look at both of her twin daughters with a smile of gratitude as Andrea beamed at the Priestlys while soothing both girls in their group hug. “Well, if you already said so, then...” Miranda beamed after kissed both Cassidy and Caroline on their heads. “That would be acceptable.”

Both Cassidy and Caroline exclaimed with a beam on their faces as they exchanged their high fives before turned to hold their mom and their mama tight in unison. “Thank you, mom! Thank you, mama! I’m so glad we’re finally together as a family! We love you all!”

Miranda sighed in contentment as Andrea kissed both of her children’s heads and replied to them. “We love you, too.” Andrea tearfully smiled after Cassidy and Caroline kissed on both of her cheeks.

Cassidy and Caroline eventually released both Miranda and Andrea from their group hug as Caroline noticed how Emily was constantly watching them with a hint of an apologetic yet neglected manner. “Cass.” Caroline whispered to Cassidy after they both stood up. “I think she really needs a hug, too.”

“Seriously, Caro?” Cassidy frowned at her twin sister in disbelief even though her smile was apparent.

“Come on.” Caroline beckoned Cassidy to pull Emily out of her initial displeasure and bring her towards their parents instead. “Don’t worry, Emily.” The girl beamed to Emily who couldn’t help but roll her eyes and mutter some words towards her and her twin sister. “My mom won’t bite. She’s not Patricia.”

“I love my job… I do really love my job…” Emily heaved a sigh of distress as her green eyes eventually found Miranda’s instant glare from those piercing blue eyes. “Yes, Miranda? What can I help you?”

Miranda couldn’t help but snort with a soft chuckle as she beckoned Emily to step closer and hug her instantly after noticed how awkward yet sincere look of her first assistant was as her green eyes were constantly watching her and Andrea in surprise. “You know how much I hate to repeat myself, Emily.”

“Yes! Yes! I… Well, I…” Emily suddenly cried and wept with joys as she eventually hugged her boss.

“Thank you for having my back, Emily.” Miranda softly patted on Emily’s back while wiping her tears. “I’m really appreciated on what you and your grandmother did for us today. I can’t thank you enough.”

Emily bit her lips and nodded with a thankful smile as Miranda eventually released her from the hug.

“Emily, I…” Andrea was about to apologize for the mistake she owned to Emily when her colleague suddenly pulled her into a quick hug. The second assistant couldn’t help but sigh and smile broadly as her brown eyes met Emily’s gaze. “Wow! Emily… I’m… Well, that’s really… unexpected.” Andrea said as Emily released her from their hug. “Everything you and Mary did for me and every one of us here is really amazing, Em. I owed you a big apology for Paris.” She softly sighed as her smile reappeared on her face again. “And I owe you and your grandma for today, too.”

Emily rolled her eyes after wiped her own tears. “Whatever you said, Andrea. It won’t change the fact that you hurt me so much. You broke my dream and let it all become shattered beneath your feet!”

“Emily…” Serena was about to protest her colleague when Nigel quickly interrupted her. “Come on.”

Emily slowly shook her head in disbelief. “How couldn’t I even figure out that it was you all the time?!”

“My dear child!” Mary interrupted as Emily had a brief breakdown while glaring furiously at Andrea.

“You almost let that freaking witch kill my grandma once!” Emily heaved a sigh. “Twenty years later, you robbed me a big chance to go to Paris Fashion Week! Everything you did is really hard for me to forgive every single mistake you made and forget why I can’t even sleep in almost every single night!”

“I’m really sorry for everything, Em.” Andrea said to Emily. “I really do. But I never regret, you know.”

Emily briefly glanced at Miranda before responded to Andrea with a huff. “Of course, you won’t!”

Andrea couldn’t help but snort with a chuckle as she walked up to Emily. “No, I didn’t mean like that. I was saying that everything in our lives that we’ve all been through, they always give us a life lesson. No matter how sorry or disappointed we really are, we must get through it no matter what happens. That’s why I said that I’ll never regret on whatever happened to my life. Although I strongly disagree on what the Grand High Witch and her coven chose to harm me and everyone, at least she did give me some important life lesson with her curse. Time is essence, Em. Time can be cruel and wicked for every one of us. But what I’ve been through the time of today, it reminded me of how important it is. Time can be longer in some unforgettable moments despite it’s truly shorter than we ever expected. I know I should stop babbling right now, but there’s no time for any regrets on what we can’t fix, Em. Even though I wished I could go back in time to stop the Grand High Witch’s attack on your grandma, we might not know what happened after that, right? We might not have a chance to meet each other and make up for everything I’ve done to you and Mary… and I… might not have a chance to meet…”

Emily couldn’t help but dramatically roll her eyes. “Alright, alright. Enough talking, Andrea. Will you?!” She heaved a sigh again but this time it was a sigh of relief as Mary came to join their conversation. “At least you bring my grandma back into my life again... and I... well, with a little help from Nigel and Serena.” She turned to smile at both Serena and Nigel who reciprocated her act with a huge smirk on their faces while Cassidy and Caroline could only giggle as Emily eventually noticed them. “And your lovely daughters, of course.” She eventually said to Miranda who playfully pursed her lips and nuzzled Andrea’s neck while looking at both of her assistants with gratitude. “Well, at least we did bring you two lovebirds together. Yes, I’ve forgiven you! Andrea! Is that alright?! Are we all done with this yet?!”

Andrea enthusiastically responded to Emily’s acceptance by hugging her tightly before swung her around the room with a broad smile on her face. Despite Emily’s sudden shriek as her eyes widened after realized the blanket on Andrea’s naked body was now dropped on the floor, everyone in the Miranda’s suite including Miranda who suddenly gaped in surprise and Mary who hurriedly helped Serena and Nigel close both Cassidy and Caroline’s eyes, they couldn’t help but shout and roar in amusement as Andrea realized how accidentally she made another stupid mistake to Emily ever again.

“MY EYES!!! MY BLOODY EYES!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, ANDREA!!! MY BLOODY EYES!!!”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As the sunshine arrived in the same morning Miranda decided to check out of this luxurious hotel with her family and her Runway crew, the editor-in-chief couldn’t help but grin at the sight after Roy hurriedly came to open the car door for her and her twin daughters who were enthusiastically running to greet him. “How’s your drive?” Miranda asked Roy after exchanged their greetings. “Traffic jam?”

“Nope. Actually, it’s better than I expected.” Roy meekly smiled at Miranda while helping Andrea carry those luggage and suitcases into the car trunk. “How’s your holiday, Miranda? Did you enjoy it so far?”

Andrea couldn’t help but look with worry at Miranda who seemed to purse her lips in a brief moment after heard Roy’s sudden question. However, as Miranda’s piercing blue eyes turned to meet those brown eyes from Andrea, the editor-in-chief couldn’t help but chuckle as she replied to her driver. “Well, as long as my love and my Bobbseys are with me, Roy, I must say that I did quite enjoy it a lot.”

“That sounds wonderful, Miranda!” Roy exclaimed and chuckled in surprise. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“Unbelievable? Well…” Miranda couldn’t help but roll her eyes in disbelief. “Impossible, if I must say.”

Roy politely nodded to Miranda before turned to greet Andrea. “Did you enjoy your holiday, Andy?”

“Oh, Roy. It was great!” Andrea replied to Roy while looking back at Miranda with a smile on her face. “I mean, I really enjoyed it. Nice weather. People having fun at the beach. I couldn’t ask for more.”

As Roy turned to pick up the last luggage and placed it into the car trunk, Andrea swiftly tugged Miranda’s arm while exchanging a brief glance. They took a short stroll while going downstairs before headed towards their car together as Miranda asked Andrea in curiosity. “What are you looking at?”

“Oh, I was wondering if my ex is still working here since we crashed the kitchen party last night…”

Miranda couldn’t help but huff and roll her eyes in disbelief despite her smile was apparent. “Well?”

Andrea chuckled at Miranda before placed a quick yet soft kiss on Miranda’s cheek as her final answer.

“Gosh, I hate the sun!” Emily’s huff made both Miranda and Andrea jump as Nigel, Mary and Serena joined them with the rest of other luggage, suitcases and the Grand High Witch’s trunk which were all currently carried by two bellboys. “I can’t believe I didn’t even get a chance to take a nap before six!”

“Just relax and enjoy the sun, Emily.” Nigel waved his hand towards the bellboys as Mary and Serena stopped at the taxi next to Roy’s car. “Oh! Please careful with that trunk! That’s very expensive one!”

“Yes, sir.” One of the bellboys responded to Nigel as they noticed Emily heave a sigh of frustration.

“Come on, Emily. Cheer up! Let’s sit there and wait until they finished. Okay?” Serena beamed at Emily after led her to sit on the bench nearby. “See? You’re gonna be alright. At least our work here is done.”

Emily heaved another sigh as her green eyes noticed a cheeky grin on Andrea’s face while playing with Cassidy and Caroline who couldn’t help but laugh and chase each other around after Miranda told all three of them to behave properly despite the fact she was also having fun and broadly smiling at them. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Emily huffed as she shifted her gaze from the Priestlys and Andrea to Serena who couldn’t help but frown in curiosity. “You know what I heard from Caroline when we met Gracie and Christian Thompson after Andrea walked out from Mr. Stringer with Miranda and Cassidy? I just can’t believe it! Cassidy and Caroline worked their butts off at matchmaking Andrea and Miranda under Gracie’s condition, ‘Thank you for leaving my poor uncle alone! I’m really appreciated on what you guys were helping me with that cure even though it tasted like an overnight meal!’ I mean… Gosh!”

Serena couldn’t help but chuckle and grin at Emily’s reaction towards their earlier encounter with the Thompsons at the hotel lobby before Gracie hurriedly pulled her uncle away from Andrea’s sights after Cassidy and Caroline signaled her with their winks. “That’s good to know, anyway! At least Andy finds her true happiness with Miranda and her lovely twin daughters. If I were her, I wouldn’t ask for more.”

Emily jerked her head from her previous thoughts in all of a sudden. “Seriously, Serena. That’s really…”

“What?” Serena innocently blinked her eyes after heard Emily’s sigh again. “I mean it’s true, isn’t it?”

“I was gonna say that’s…” Emily huffed and patted Serena’s shoulder even though she couldn’t help but also give a genuine smirk. “Really… amazing. Really, I mean it’s also true. Well, you’re right.” Miranda’s first assistant sighed in a little frustration after her eyes noticed Miranda, Andrea and the twins were done with playing and now heading back towards their own car as Roy eventually announced that everything was ready for their departure. “Well, I think we should go and help…”

“Oh my God!!! I can’t believe it!!! Rats!!! RATS!!! THEY’RE OVER THERE! AT THE BENCH!!!”

“RATS!!!” Emily suddenly stood up in fright as her eyes noticed those on the bench. “BLOODY HELL!!!”

“What happened?!” Mary asked them after heard her granddaughter’s shriek. “What’s going on?!”

Nigel instantly turned to look at Emily and Serena who jumped out of the bench. “Dear God Almighty.”

“Mama?” Cassidy asked Andrea with worry. “Are they those remaining witches from last night?”

“Well.” Andrea swallowed after realized they were indeed. “I guess they want to get a revenge on us.” 

“NOT AGAIN!!!” Emily wailed as Serena tried to stomp on those rats. “OH MY GOD!!! I HATE RATS!!!”

“Oh, no!” Caroline watched them in disbelief while holding Miranda tightly. “What should we do?”

Miranda shook her head as she watched Andrea with worry. “I really have no ideas at all, Bobbseys.”

Even though Serena couldn’t help but shriek at her sight, she was more worried about her colleague as Emily hurriedly walked away from the bench with both eyes widened in shock. “Emily, watch out!”

Andrea was about to intervene and helped both of her colleagues when Emily drew out her wand and casted a distraction spell to make those hideous rats get away from Serena as the exterminators who received a special request from Mr. Stringer, eventually arrived just in time to exterminate all of them. The first assistant cried as she found herself was about to stumble on the ground when Serena came to pull her up just in time before the exterminators got rid of those rats at their sights.

“Are you alright?” Serena gently wiped some beads of sweat off Emily’s forehead. “They’re gone now.”

Emily nodded. She could hear a faint noise from Serena’s gasp while her colleague was looking at her.

“You looked pale, Emily.” Serena said as she stepped away from Emily. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Yeah.” Emily heaved a sigh of relief as she smiled at Serena. “I’m fine. I’m gonna be alright. Thanks.”

Serena couldn’t help but grin and nod after her eyes met Emily’s soft gaze again. “Don’t mention it.”

As both Emily and Serena heard Nigel’s voice and saw Mary beckoned both of them to sit in the back of the taxi with her, Emily couldn’t help but shrug as she reluctantly walked away from her colleague after Nigel decided to sit beside the taxi driver’s seat. “Anything alright, my dear child?” Mary asked.

“Yeah, grandma.” Emily replied to Mary with a hint of smile on her face. “Well, better than alright.”

Mary couldn’t help but chuckle as she tugged her granddaughter towards the taxi while Miranda and her family were watching Emily and Serena’s reaction towards each other in a serene amusement. “Better late than never, I guess.” Miranda said as she slipped into her favorite spot of the back seat. 

“Well, at least they’re on time.” Andrea responded to Miranda’s words and reaction after noticed how fast those exterminators arrived on time for abolishing the rest of those hideous rats which led to the most heartwarming moment between her colleagues and the witch hunter. “Alright, girls! Let’s go back home and have some rest.” She smiled at both Priestly girls before joined Miranda inside their car as she saw her flicking hand through the car window. “Okay, who wants to sit beside this window?”

Caroline raised her hand as her answer before motioned Cassidy to sit next to their mother inside the car and faced the other side of the car’s window. However, as Andrea was about to open the car door and sit next to Roy’s seat, Caroline hurriedly closed the car door before her. “I’ll take the front one.”

“Hey! That’s not fair, Caro!” Cassidy couldn’t help but cross her arms while looking at Caroline with a dramatic reaction as her twin sister carefully tugged Andrea’s arm before adjusted their mama to sit beside Miranda at the back seat of their car instead. “What about me? What am I doing here?”

“Shut up and move a little bit to the window, Cass. Thank you very much! Enjoy the view, guys!”

Cassidy couldn’t help but chuckle as Caroline grinned and gently closed the car door at the back before walked to open the car door at the front and sit on the seat beside Roy’s current position as the driver.

Nigel hurriedly motioned Emily and Serena to their taxi as Mary waved her goodbyes to the Priestlys.

“Well.” Miranda said as she put on her sunglasses. “I guess I might have to be more angelic this time.”

Andrea couldn’t help but grin at Miranda’s words after waved back towards Mary and Runway crew as the taxi eventually drove away from the luxurious hotel before Roy and them. “Honestly, Miranda.” She replied to Miranda as her brown eyes met those piercing blue eyes through those lens of beautiful sunglasses on Miranda’s face. “Being summoned by the beautiful devil like you, it wasn’t all that bad.”

Miranda dramatically rolled her eyes and chuckled as Andrea leaned into her and kissed on her lips.

As Caroline eventually put on her seatbelt while exchanging a known glance with Cassidy who winked back at her through the rear mirror and Roy who was ready to take them home, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes and grin towards Miranda and Andrea as they finally stopped kissing and slowly blushed after realized they had been watched by Miranda’s twin daughters and her driver at the same time. “Ready, guys?” Caroline asked everyone with a hint of playful smirk on her face. “We’re going home!”

Miranda simply nodded towards them as Roy eventually drove the car away from the luxurious hotel.

As the car finally went past the exit route, the editor-in-chief couldn’t help but sigh in a huge relief as her piercing blue eyes found Andrea was still holding her hand while looking through the car window. Miranda remained silent through their travel on the road as the sight of being held by Andrea made her feel truly overwhelmed yet serene at the same time while Cassidy and Caroline having a chitchat alongside Roy until she found that Andrea eventually noticed something through the reflection on the car window from their side. It was her own piercing blue eyes as she was constantly watching Andrea enjoying the view outside the car in silence while a hint of smile on her lips turning into a broad grin as Andrea turned her gaze away from the car window and looked at her with a serene known glance. It was full of love, joy, comfort and mutual understanding as Andrea reciprocated a kiss from Miranda.

Andrea’s soft touch on Miranda’s hand remained warm like the day they stole a glance at each other while travelling back home from that luxurious hotel despite those indescribable yet unfortunate and horrible incidents from the Grand High Witch and her coven was still somehow unforgettable to them.

Andrea couldn’t help but smile at her sight as Miranda eventually leaned on her shoulder and laughed along with everyone in the car after listened to one of those funny stories from Caroline who couldn’t help but laugh at herself as Cassidy chuckled yet dramatically rolled her eyes towards her twin sister.

Every single little thing Andrea did for Miranda and her children in each and every day after that day, it always made the editor-in-chief felt grateful every time she came home after work from Runway and found the woman with those beautiful brown eyes was waiting for her with her twin daughters who couldn’t help but grin at each other every time they noticed how Miranda and Andrea greeted each other with a warm embrace and those soft little kisses on both cheeks and lips inside their townhouse which was gradually become the sweetest home they finally had for the rest of their lives.

As well as Emily who couldn’t ask for more sudden change which came along with an eventual happiness after Mary finally asked her and Nigel to join her grandmother’s secret witch hunting squad as the driver eventually pulled the car over at the front door of Emily’s apartment on the same day they departed from that hotel. Emily simply replied to Mary with a tight hug and a hint of known smirk on her face after Nigel gladly accepted her grandmother’s request with a soft sigh and his handshake. 

As soon as Emily stepped out of the taxi and headed back to her room with Nigel and her grandmother while carrying those suitcases, luggage and the Grand High Witch’s trunk together, Serena suddenly turned away from the taxi and hurriedly followed them upstairs after realized she forgot something.

As Serena rushed into the living room with widened eyes, Emily couldn’t help but frown in surprise after noticed her colleague was panting while looking at her. “What’s wrong, Serena? Are you alright?”

Nigel glanced between two women before signaled Mary to step out of the room together as soon as he noticed how Serena became nervous yet brave in all of a sudden as she sighed and walked towards Emily who gradually realized something sparkling inside Serena’s eyes behind those lens of eyeglasses. “Do you think my dear child will accept Serena as her date, Nigel?” Mary asked Nigel in a whisper.

“Of course, Mary.” Nigel replied to Mary with a quick wink while hiding behind Emily’s bedroom door. “Emily’s totally head over heels for Serena since they met very long time ago at Runway. Well, that’s before Six arrived at Runway and came into Miranda’s life which left her become a little bit ruthless.”

Mary frowned at him in surprise. “Wait, who did you mean she’s ruthless? Miranda or my dear child?”

Nigel couldn’t help but snort with a laugh as Mary suddenly shook her head with a smile on her face while watching both Serena and Emily who were now in the midst of their erupted conversation.

“I know, I know. This might seem a bit too quick for both of us.” Serena sighed after realized she was now babbling while trying to look deeply into Emily’s green eyes as she was saying to her colleague. “But I was thinking about it all the time while we were in that hotel with the others… and that taxi… and I… well, I… I really can’t stop thinking about you and everything you always did to me at all, Emily. Gosh, what could I say even more?! Alright, it’s now or never! Do you want to go out with me?”

Without a doubt, Emily simply replied to Serena with a warm embrace and a gentle kiss on her lips.

**THE END**


End file.
